MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons GameDay

Published on July 2, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Thursday, July 2, 2009 Game # 77 (7)

Fifth Third Field Dayton, Ohio. 7:00 p.m.

Radio: WING 1410 AM "ESPN Radio"

Fort Wayne TinCaps (5-1, 50-26) at Dayton Dragons (3-3, 31-45)

RH Stiven Osuna (3-6, 5.27) vs. RH Lance Janke (4-3, 3.44)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Fort Wayne TinCaps (affiliate of the San Diego Padres) in the third game of a four game series. Season Series: Fort Wayne 12, Dayton 1. (At Dayton: Dragons 1, TinCaps 1).

About Fort Wayne: The TinCaps won the Eastern Division First Half title to qualify for post-season play. They are 27-2 vs. Dayton and South Bend; 23-24 vs. the other 11 MWL teams.

Last Game: Fort Wayne lost a 5-1 lead but broke a 6-6 tie with two runs in the top of the ninth inning on the way to an 8-6 win. The teams have split the first two games in the series. The game featured 19 walks and 20 strikeouts. Of the Dragons 45 plate appearances, 24 ended in a walk or a strikeout. Cody Puckett hit a two-run home run for Dayton. Yefri Carvajal's two-run single in the top of the ninth broke the 6-6 tie.

Today's Starting Pitcher: Lance Janke makes his 11th start and 16th appearance of the season for the Dragons tonight. Janke's last start was Friday at Lansing and he earned the victory to improve his record in the month of June to 3-0 (5.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO). Janke has struck out 16 batters in 11 innings over his last two starts and has won three consecutive starts. Janke spent 13 days on the disabled list with a sprained ankle from May 3-15. Janke was a 14th round draft pick in 2008 by the Reds out of San Diego Christian College. He is a 22-year-old native of Santee, California. Janke was a starting pitcher last season at Billings, going 3-2, 5.60 in 11 games.

Skipper: Todd Benzinger makes his professional baseball managerial debut in 2009. Benzinger enjoyed a nine-year major league playing career from 1987-1995 with the Reds, Red Sox, Royals, Dodgers, and Giants. Todd is a former first baseman who recorded the final putout of the 1990 World Series with the Reds to complete their four-game sweep of the Oakland A's. Benzinger is a native of the Cincinnati area and currently resides in West Chester, Ohio. He has enjoyed a highly-successful career coaching girls' high school basketball since 1999.

Individual Notes

- Kevin Coddington is batting .362 over his last 19 games and has hit safely in nine straight games.

- Byron Wiley is batting .333 with four doubles, a triple, three HR, and 15 RBI in his last 10 games, posting a slugging percentage of .718.

- In 12 games with the Dragons since joining the club, Mike Konstanty is batting .348 with three homers, three triples, and 14 RBI.

- Kevyn Feiner is batting .385 over his last eight games.

Team Notes

- The Dragons are 22-20 over their last 42 games. They are 30-33 over their last 63 games after starting the season 1-12.

- Nineteen of the Dragons 39 road games this season have been one-run games. They are 5-14 in one-run road games.

- Seventeen of the Dragons' 44 losses have come by one run. The Dragons are 9-17 in one-run games overall.

Team Batting Notes

- The Dragons are batting .296 as a team over the last 14 games, averaging 5.6 runs per game.

- The Dragons are batting .301 in the six games in the second half.

Team Pitching Notes

- From Opening Night (April 9) through May 15, Dragons starting pitchers were a combined 4-14 with a 5.87 ERA. Since May 15th, Dragons starting pitchers are 15-11 with a 3.61 ERA.

- The Dragons have posted a 3.46 ERA as a team in their last 42 games.

- The Dragons have a second half team ERA of 3.29.

Remembering June: The Dragons went 12-13 in the month of June. The .480 winning percentage was their best in the three months played this season. The record ranked ninth among 14 MWL teams...The Dragons hit .262 as a team in June to rank fifth in the league after ranking tied for ninth in both April and May...The Dragons team ERA of 3.71 ranked ninth in the league...Among players with the Dragons all month, Kevin Coddington lead the team with a .343 batting average...Byron Wiley led the team in RBI with 15. Mike Konstanty had 14 despite not joining the team until June 15th...Andrew Means led the team in extra base hits (10) and stolen bases (10 for 10)...Lance Janke went 3-0 to lead the team in wins...Josh Ravin led starting pitchers with a 1.80 ERA...Andrew Bowman had a 1.65 ERA in 16.1 innings out of the bullpen...Aguido Gonzalez notched four saves to lead the team.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time)

Friday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton LH Matt Fairel (5-3, 2.96) vs. Fort Wayne RH Erik Davis (6-3, 4.35)

Saturday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Curtis Partch (4-6, 5.67) at West Michigan LH Casey Crosby (6-2, 3.39)

Sunday (2:00 p.m.): Dayton RH J.C. Sulbaran (2-1, 4.21) at West Michigan RH Brandon Hamilton (3-3, 6.37)

Monday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Oscar Castro (2-2, 6.47) at West Michigan RH Brayan Villarreal (2-2, 1.04)

Tuesday (12:00 noon): Dayton RH Lance Janke at West Michigan RH Mark Sorensen (3-2, 3.32)

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from July 2, 2009


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