The Brooklyn Cyclones made a bit of franchise history and rehabbing Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was there for it all on Tuesday night.
Alvarez, who is rehabbing from a torn ligament in his thumb that he suffered in April, caught every inning of the Cyclones’ first-ever nine-inning no-hitter during their 3-0 home win over the Aberdeen Ironbirds.
Righties Dakota Hawkins, Joey Lancellotti, and Joshua Cornielly combined for nine innings of no-hit ball and struck out six batters during the memorable night.
Hawkins, who threw five innings on Tuesday recalled to The Post when Alvarez approached him about what was going on several innings in.
“The third inning rolls around and Alvarez comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, we’re throwing a no-hitter today.’ I go, ‘OK, sounds good,’” Hawkins said during a phone interview.
The 24-year-old Mets prospect, who was making his second start of the season for the Cyclones, praised Lancellotti and Cornielly and called the night “something special.”
Lancellotti entered the game in the sixth and Cornielly came in to pitch the final three innings.
“The ninth comes around and I’m like, ‘oh we’re three outs away from doing this. And then next thing you know we’re celebrating on the mound, and we just threw a no-hitter,” Hawkins said.
Alvarez went 1-for-3 at the plate in his first rehab start with the Mets High-A affiliate after combining to go 2-for-8 in three rehab games with Double-A Binghamton.
On Tuesday night the catcher singled to center field on a line drive in the bottom of the first and walked in the bottom of the third.
“I mean he’s such a great hitter,” Hawkins said. “I remember I was watching his first or second at-bat, he watched three balls down in the dirt. He’s just, great takes, great takes and then he puts a good swing on a ball that he just missed. I think he ended up walking or something like that I mean he’s really good.
Hawkins said Tuesday’s no-hitter ranked second among his baseball memories in his lifetime — the day the Mets signed him remained his top memory — and it didn’t hurt that he had a big league catcher helping to guide him through the night.
Not just because Alvarez was playing in Queens before he had been injured earlier this year, but he had been through the Mets system before getting to the Majors and played 84 games with the Cyclones in 2021 setting a franchise record with 22 home runs that season.
“Being able to have a guy who has been in my shoes catching in the minor leagues – catching for Brooklyn — and then being able to make it to the big leagues,” Hawkins said. “Being able to play the game at the highest level and he’s been really really good at it. It’s just a great feeling for me because he knows how to keep everything under control and keep me composed to play the game at the best of my ability.”
Alvarez could be back on his way to the big leagues as early as next week after the Mets return from London.
He had been batting .236 with one home run and eight RBIs before he got hurt in April.
