Cyclones’ Pitching, Speed, Timely Hitting Tame Vermont in 4-1 Win

By Jerry Del Priore

Good pitching usually leads to victory, and speed kills, not to mention clutch hitting. The Brooklyn Cyclones, the short-season Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets, made good on that theory Wednesday night at MCU Park.

Hurler Jose Butto tossed six scoreless innings, they stole seven bases, and timely hitting by Hayden Senger and Ross Adolph propelled the Cyclones past the Lake Monsters, 4-1, on historic Coney Island.

Butto (1-0) limited Vermont (27-29, Oakland) to one run on three hits and a walk. The 20-year-old Venezuelan native mowed down the first nine batters he faced, whiffing a total of five batters in the victory.

Ezequiel Zabaleta tossed a scoreless bottom of the ninth to pick up his first save after Tommy Wilson blanked the Lake Monsters over the seventh and eighth frames.

Senger’s RBI double and Ross Adolph’s run-scoring knock staked Brooklyn to a 3-0 lead after the first two innings, and never looked back.

The Cyclones walked a season-best nine times, including four from Sharp, who became the fourth player in franchise history with four bases-on-balls.

Jose Medina, Sharp, and Adolph, who captured the New York-Penn League’s All-Star MVP on Tuesday night, each had two base thefts.

Brooklyn is on a five-contest winning streak, and are a half game behind the Auburn Doubledays. (Washington).