The Brooklyn Cyclones made a little bit of franchise historical past and rehabbing Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was there for all of it on Tuesday evening.
Alvarez, who’s rehabbing from a torn ligament in his thumb that he suffered in April, caught each inning of the Cyclones’ first-ever nine-inning no-hitter throughout their 3-0 dwelling win over the Aberdeen Ironbirds.
Righties Dakota Hawkins, Joey Lancellotti, and Joshua Cornielly mixed for 9 innings of no-hit ball and struck out six batters throughout the memorable evening.
Hawkins, who threw 5 innings on Tuesday recalled to The Publish when Alvarez approached him about what was happening a number of innings in.
“The third inning rolls round and Alvarez comes as much as me and says, ‘Hey, we’re throwing a no-hitter at this time.’ I am going, ‘OK, sounds good,’” Hawkins stated throughout a telephone interview.
The 24-year-old Mets prospect, who was making his second begin of the season for the Cyclones, praised Lancellotti and Cornielly and known as the evening “one thing particular.”
Lancellotti entered the sport within the sixth and Cornielly got here in to pitch the ultimate three innings.
“The ninth comes round and I’m like, ‘oh we’re three outs away from doing this. After which subsequent factor we’re celebrating on the mound, and we simply threw a no-hitter,” Hawkins stated.
Alvarez went 1-for-3 on the plate in his first rehab begin with the Mets Excessive-A affiliate after combining to go 2-for-8 in three rehab video games with Double-A Binghamton.
On Tuesday evening the catcher singled to middle subject on a line drive within the backside of the primary and walked within the backside of the third.
“I imply he’s such an ideal hitter,” Hawkins stated. “I bear in mind I used to be watching his first or second at-bat, he watched three balls down within the grime. He’s simply, nice takes, nice takes after which he places swing on a ball that he simply missed. I believe he ended up strolling or one thing like that I imply he’s actually good.
Hawkins stated Tuesday’s no-hitter ranked second amongst his baseball recollections in his lifetime — the day the Mets signed him remained his high reminiscence — and it didn’t harm that he had a giant league catcher serving to to information him by way of the evening.
Not simply because Alvarez was taking part in in Queens earlier than he had been injured earlier this yr, however he had been by way of the Mets system earlier than attending to the Majors and performed 84 video games with the Cyclones in 2021 setting a franchise file with 22 dwelling runs that season.
“With the ability to have a man who has been in my footwear catching within the minor leagues – catching for Brooklyn — after which with the ability to make it to the large leagues,” Hawkins stated. “With the ability to play the sport on the highest stage and he’s been actually actually good at it. It’s only a nice feeling for me as a result of he is aware of easy methods to hold all the pieces underneath management and hold me composed to play the sport at the most effective of my means.”
Alvarez could possibly be again on his strategy to the large leagues as early as subsequent week after the Mets return from London.
He had been batting .236 with one dwelling run and eight RBIs earlier than he received harm in April.
