Brooklyn Cyclones: Arms Race Heating Up in Coney Island

From the desk of:  THE SURF AVENUE SLUGGERS

Dutchess Stadium

Brooks lead series 2-0

I - BKN 3; HVR 0

II - BKN 6; HVR 1

III - FRIDAY

GAME THREE

Brooklyn Cyclones

vs.

Hudson Valley Renegades

FROM

Fishkill

NEW YORK

Brooklyn Cyclones: Behind strong pitching Baby Bums are 7-3 in last 10 games; closing in on first place Staten Island Yankees.

The season long offensively challenged Brooklyn Cyclones have outscored 

the Hudson Valley Renegades by a 9-1 margin through two games.  

The Cyclones will attempt a sweep Friday evening.

The Brooklyn Cyclones have come a long way since their sub-par start to the regular season, and have effectively tightened up the McNamara Division race.

And now, the only thing better than the cool ocean breeze at Coney Island, is the heat being generated on the pitching mound at MCU Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Mets first round draft pick (#19 overall) Justin Dunn is scheduled to make the third start of his professional career in Troy, N.Y. this weekend against the Tri-City Valley Cats.

He presently owns a 1-1 record with a 0.75 ERA after five appearances and two starts.  He has limited the opposition to a lone earned run on 12 hits and five walks, with 13 strikeouts through 13 innings pitched.

However, the Brooklyn Cyclones pitcher suddenly turning heads is left-hander Thomas Szapucki.  He was promoted to Brooklyn after just five appearances for the Kingsport Mets of the (R) Appalachian League, in which he posted a 2-1 record with an attention grabbing 0.62 ERA and 0.86 WHiP.  He allowed just 17 hits, walked nine, and fanned 47 batters in just 29 innings of work.

He has since made two starts for the Cyclones.  His last start on July 31 against Aberdeen was nothing short of a gem.  He earned an unfortunate loss after allowing one unearned run, but otherwise tossed seven innings of two-hit baseball, walking one, and fanning 10 batters.

Thomas made his Cyclones debut on July 14 against the Staten Island Yankees, and it was a beauty.   He pitched 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball, while limiting the Yanks to just four hits and three walks, while fanning eight batters.

The performance of starter Harol Gonzalez is also demanding attention, who after nine starts leads the NYPL with 67 strikeouts and a 0.88 WHiP, along with the league's fourth best 1.77 ERA.  He owns a 4-1 record so far, and has allowed 12 walks and just 37 hits through 56 innings pitched.

On Tuesday, Aug. 2, the Cyclones added getting one-hit by the Aberdeen Ironbirds to their list of ponderous 2016 achievements.

They've since went on to take two straight from the Renegades up in Hudson Valley.  This past Wednesday against Hudson Valley, Harol Gonzalez tossed seven innings of scoreless, four-hit baseball, while issuing just one walk and fanning four batters.  The series finale scheduled for Friday.

• Mets second round draft pick first baseman Peter Alonso hit his fourth professional home run against the Renegades.  He is presently slashing .295/.373/.534, with seven doubles and 18 RBI through 25 games and 88 at-bats.