Cyclones heat up at the Jersey Shore

After winning four out of six games at home against Greensboro, the Cyclones resumed play after the Major League All-Star break.

Coming off a good homestand, the Cyclones were anxious to test their momentum in a three-game weekend road series against the Jersey Shore Blue Claws. That newfound momentum actually carried the team as they swept the series with a display of power and strong pitching. 

Starting off on Friday night, the Mets’ No. 4 prospect, outfielder Alex Ramirez, lit the fuse with a first-inning home run and then proceeded to go 4-for-5 with five RBIs. Righthander Carson Seymour (1-5) earned his first win of the season while striking out 10 batters over six innings in the 10-3 win. 

The next day, Ramirez followed up the previous night’s power surge with another home run to win the game in the ninth inning with the bases loaded with Brooklyn trailing 7-5.  Turning quickly on a high inside pitch, Ramirez hit the ball deep to left field for a “no-doubter,” as described by Cyclones radio announcer Keith Raad. Righty Justin Courtney pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth in Brooklyn’s 9-7 comeback victory.

In the weekend finale, Joe Suozzi was the hitting star, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs in the Cyclones 5-1 win. Holding the Blue Claws to just one run over five innings, Brooklyn’s top pitcher Nick Zwack (5-1 with a 1.52 ERA) struck out seven batters and gave up four hits.

After coming up to join the team from Low Single-A St. Lucie on July 4, Ramirez is beginning to live up to his billing. So far the 6-foot-3, 170-pound 19-year-old Dominican is hitting for power as advertised and his strong arm and outfield speed are sufficient to keep him in the starting lineup. Over his last five games the lanky outfielder is hitting .652 (12-20).

With a three-game sweep of the Blue Claws, the 14-10 Cyclones are now in second place in the South Atlantic League’s North Division, just a half game behind the first place (14-9) Hudson Valley Renegades. Oddly enough, the team will have a chance to really test that built-up momentum when they face the Renegades in their next road series.