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MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons Game Notes for Saturday

August 14, 2021 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Saturday, August 14, 2021 l Game # 89

Jackson Field l Lansing, Mich. l 7:05 p.m.

Radio: 980 WONE Fox Sports

Dayton Dragons (47-41) at Lansing Lugnuts (42-46)

RH Eduardo Salazar (2-5, 3.92) vs. RH Jack Cushing (6-0, 2.48)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Lansing Lugnuts (affiliate of the Oakland Athletics) in the fifth game of a six-game series. 2021 Season Series: Dayton 9, Lansing 7 (At Lansing: Dragons 6, Lugnuts 4). Current Series: Dayton 3, Lansing 1.

Last Game: Friday: Lansing 7, Dayton 6. For just the third time all season, the Dragons lost a game after holding a lead of at least three runs. Dayton built a 3-0 lead over the first three innings, helped by a two-run homer by Quin Cotton. They fell behind before jumping back ahead 6-5 on Jack Rogers' tie-breaking homer in the top of the eighth before Lansing scored single runs in the bottom of the eighth and ninth to win.

Current Series at Lansing: The Dragons are 3-1 in the current six-game series at Lansing, outscoring the Lugnuts 35-14. They are batting .285 in the series with 10 home runs. The team ERA in the series is 3.31. They have committed two errors in the four games. Dragons on the Road Trip: 6-5.

High-A Central League Playoffs: Major League Baseball has announced that leagues at three classifications, including the High-A Central League, will conduct playoffs in September. The top two teams in each league, regardless of division, will meet in a best-of-five series.

Playoff Race: The Dragons are one game behind Cedar Rapids in the race for the #2 seed in the 2021 post-season.

Transactions: The Dragons are expected to activate catcher Mat Nelson before tonight's game. Nelson led the nation in home runs at Florida State in 2021 and won the Johnny Bench Award as the top catcher in the country. He was the 35th overall selection in the 2021 draft. On Thursday, pitcher Braxton Roxby rejoined the Dragons from Chattanooga, while pitcher Jacques Pucheu moved up to Chattanooga and outfielder Mariel Bautista was placed on the injured list with a sore shoulder. On Wednesday, shortstop Matt McLain, the Reds first round draft pick in 2021 out of UCLA, was promoted to Dayton from the ACL Reds. Outfielder Jack Rogers, the 2021 ninth round pick out of Sam Houston State, was also transferred to Dayton from the ACL Reds, and infielder Jonathan Willems was transferred to Dayton from Double-A Chattanooga. Meanwhile, second baseman Francisco Urbaez was promoted from Dayton to Chattanooga. On Tuesday, infielder Ivan Johnson was promoted to Dayton from Daytona, while shortstop Miguel Hernandez was promoted to Chattanooga. Utility infielder Reyny Reyes was transferred to Daytona.

First Round Fever: Shortstop Matt McLain became the latest first round draft pick to play for the Dragons when he joined the club on August 11. Recent first round picks to play for the Dragons, with their draft year, have included Nick Lodolo (2019), Jonathan India (2018), Hunter Greene (2017), Nick Senzel (2016), Tyler Stephenson (2015), Nick Howard and Alex Blandino (2014), Phillip Ervin (2013), Nick Travieso (2012), and Robert Stephenson (2011). Every Reds "true" first round pick (selected within the first 30 picks of the draft) over the last 11 drafts has played for the Dragons except 2020 first rounder Austin Hendrick, who is currently at Low-A Daytona.

Player Notes

James Free has six doubles in his last seven games. He is 9 for 26 (.346) over that period beginning July 28.

Jacob Hurtubise is batting .321 over his last 24 games since July 14.

Carson Spiers over his last five starts: 3-1, 2.16 ERA, 25 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 6 BB, 34 SO.

John Ghyzel over his last five relief appearances: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO.

Andy Fisher over his last four relief appearances: 6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 SO.

Team Notes

The Dragons are 6-3 over their last nine games. They need a win tonight or tomorrow to clinch a winning record on the road trip (13 games).

The Dragons have scored 35 runs in the first four games of the series. This is their highest total since they scored 36 in a six-game set June 1-6 at Lake County. Their season high for runs in a series is 40 (twice, both in six-game sets in May).

The Dragons have hit 10 home runs in the series, surpassing their highest total in any series this season. They hit eight at Great Lakes May 4-9.

Dragons pitchers have posted a 3.03 ERA in the 11 games on the road trip. They rank second in the league in team ERA in August at 3.38.

The Dayton bullpen over the last 10 games has tossed 40.2 innings and allowed just eight earned runs, a 1.77 ERA.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com)

Sun., August 15 (1:05 p.m.): Dayton RH Christian Roa (1-0, 1.50) at Lansing LH Jack Owen (no record)

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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