Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Great Lakes Loons (affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) in the third game of a four-game series. This is game eight of a nine-game home stand for Dayton.
Season Series: Great Lakes 8, Dayton 5 (At Dayton: Great Lakes 6, Dayton 3).
Dayton on the Current Home Stand: 3-4 (Team Batting Average: .295; Team ERA: 4.14).
Last Night: Dayton evened the series with Great Lakes with a 7-2 victory. Alex Oliveras homered for the second straight night, collecting three hits and driving in two runs. Carlos Mendez had two hits and extended his hitting streak to 16 straight games. Shea Snowden notched the win in his first Midwest League start, going 6.1 innings and allowing one run on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Andrew Bowman earned the save.
Today's Starting Pitcher: Ezequiel Infante makes his first professional start after making 63 relief appearances over the 2007-'09 seasons. Infante started the 2009 season in extended spring training before debuting with Billings when the Pioneer League season began in June. With the Mustangs, he pitched in just three games (1-0, 1.42) before being promoted to the Dragons on July 4. Infante last pitched on Friday night when he threw three scoreless innings against Burlington, striking out five and walking no one while allowing two hits. In 2008, Infante pitched with the DSL Reds and allowed just one earned run in 47 innings, posting a 0.19 ERA. He is a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
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
- Miguel Rojas is batting .416 in his last 26 games (37 for 89) and is hitting .369 in the second half. Rojas led the Midwest League in July batting with a .385 average.
- Byron Wiley is batting .338 with 13 doubles, two triples, nine HR, and 40 RBI in his last 38 games since June 14, posting a slugging percentage of .648 and raising his batting average from .211 to .275. Wiley is batting .339 in the second half.
- Carlos Mendez has hit in 16 straight games, going 28 for 68, .412. Mendez is now batting .299.
Hitting Streaks: Mendez's 16-game hitting streak is the second longest in Dragons history. The club record is 19 by Cody Strait in 2005. Mendez has the longest current hitting streak in the league. Byron Wiley's 14-game hitting streak ended last night with an 0 for 3, 2 BB night.
Team Notes
- The Dragons are 10-6 over their last 16 games. They have been leading or tied in the ninth inning in 15 of the 16 games.
- After 37 of 69 games in the second half, the Dragons are one game behind South Bend for the wildcard slot in the 2nd half playoff race.
- The Dragons have lost 32 games this season in which they held a lead during the game. They have come from behind to win 14 games.
Team Batting Notes
- The Dragons are batting .283 in the second half (37 games) after batting .250 in the first half (70 games).
- During the Dragons 10-6 stretch, they are batting .296 as a team and averaging 5.5 runs per game.
- After four games in August, the Dragons lead the league in batting for the month (.336).
Team Pitching Notes
- During the Dragons 10-6 stretch, the team ERA is 3.30. Over the full season, this would currently rank tied for second among 14 MWL teams.
- Over the last 16 games, Dayton starting pitchers have posted a 3.02 ERA. They have not allowed more than three earned runs in any start.
- The Dragons second half team ERA is 4.46. The first half ERA was 4.50.
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