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Dragons Gameday June 10th

July 10, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1) - Dayton Dragons News Release


The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Clinton LumberKings (affiliate of the Seattle Mariners) in the finale of a three game series.

Season Series: Dayton 3, Clinton 2. (At Clinton: Dayton 2, Clinton 0).

Dayton on the Current Road Trip: 3-3 (first four games at West Michigan).

Last Game: The Dragons defeated Clinton 1-0 to win their second straight game in the series. Curtis Partch tossed six scoreless to earn the win. Aguido Gonzalez worked the final two innings to earn his 10th save. Andrew Means manufactured the only run of the game when he collected an infield hit and eventually circled the bases to score on a wild pitch. Josh Fellhauer had three hits and Means and Miguel Rojas each had two for Dayton. Dayton pitchers have allowed just one run in the two games in the series.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Mark James makes his first start of the season tonight after pitching out of the bullpen 17 times for the Dragons. James is filling in for J.C. Sulbaran, who is skipping his turn in the rotation to pitch in the All-Star Futures Game. James last pitched on Sunday at West Michigan and was not involved in the decision (3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO). Mark was originally selected in the 14th round of the 2005 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and played two years in the Brewers system, both at the short-season level. He did not play in 2007. He spent the 2008 season in the independent Can-Am League before his contract was purchased by the Reds. James began the 2009 season in extended spring training and joined the Dragons May 6th.

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

- Byron Wiley is batting .383 with five doubles, a triple, seven HR, and 22 RBI in his last 16 games, posting a slugging percentage of .850. Wiley is 8 for 18 with four HR and five walks in the last five games.

- Kevin Coddington is batting .337 over his last 27 games, raising his average from .281 to .302.

- Andrew Means is batting .338 over his last 20 games and has an eight-game hitting streak.

- Miguel Rojas is batting .346 in the second half and has three straight multi-hit games.

- Tony Brown is 7 for 17, .412 on the current road trip.

Team Notes

- After 14 games in the second half, the Dragons hold a one-game lead on the final spot in the second half playoff race.

- The Dragons are 25-25 over their last 50 games. They are 33-38 over their last 71 games after starting the season 1-12.

- The Dragons are 3-6 in July with a team batting average of .273 and a team ERA of 5.54. The team ERA in July excluding last Sunday's game in West Michigan would be 3.60.

- Twenty-one of the Dragons 45 road games this season have been one-run games. They are 6-15 in one-run road games.

Team Batting Notes

- The Dragons are batting .288 as a team over the last 22 games.

- The Dragons are batting .286 in the second half (14 games) after batting .250 in the first half (70 games).

- The Dragons are batting .302 on the current road trip (5 games).

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 17-15 with a 3.76 ERA.

- The Dragons have posted a 3.74 ERA as a team in their last 50 games.

- The Dragons second half team ERA is 4.39. Excluding Sunday's 20-11 loss at West Michigan, the second half ERA would be 3.11. The Dragons first half ERA was 4.50.


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