MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Friday (7:05 PM vs. West Michigan)

Published on August 30, 2024 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Friday, August 30, 2024 l Game # 58 (124)

Day Air Ballpark l Dayton, Ohio l 7:05 p.m.

TV: Dayton's CW (26) l Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

West Michigan Whitecaps (31-25, 62-60) at Dayton Dragons (36-21, 70-53)

RH Colin Fields (2-5, 3.30) vs. RH Jose Franco (1-2, 2.84)

Today's Game : The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the West Michigan Whitecaps (affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) in the fourth game of a six-game series at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

In the Standings : The Dragons are in first place, four games ahead of Great Lakes and four and one-half games ahead of West Michigan in the East Division of the Midwest League (2nd Half) with nine games to play. The Dragons "magic number" to clinch a playoff berth is six.

Season Series with West Michigan: West Michigan 10, Dayton 8 (at Dayton: Whitecaps 5, Dragons 4).

Streaks/Trends : The Dragons are 15-5 over their last 20 games. They are 36-18 (.667) over their last 54. They are 57-34 (.626) over their last 91 (since May 12).

Last Game: Thursday : West Michigan 9, Dayton 5. The Whitecaps collected 15 hits, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning. The Dragons twice got within two runs at 5-3 in the third inning and 7-5 in the sixth, but they could not pick up the big hit to even the score. Ethan O'Donnell and Leo Balcazar hit home runs.

Current Series (August 27-Sept. 1 vs. West Michigan) : Dayton is 1-2 in the series.

Dayton team stats in series : .216 batting average (21 for 97); 4.0 runs/game (12 R, 3 G); 3 home runs; 2 stolen bases; 7.00 ERA (27 IP, 21 ER); 4 errors.

Team Notes

While going 15-5 over their last 20 games, the Dragons lead the MWL in runs, home runs, and stolen bases.

Dayton is 21-8 in one-run games (15-4 at home). They are 21-9 at home overall in the second half. Overall in 2024, they are 22-9 at home when scoring first, and 34-9 when scoring at least four runs. They are 16-2 when their starting pitcher goes 6+ innings; 45-11 when the starter goes 5+.

The Dragons rank second in Minor League Baseball (120 teams) in average attendance (7,995), trailing #1 Indianapolis (8,223).

Terrific Trio : In the month of August, the Dragons are 17-8. Cam Collier, Leo Balcazar, and Ethan O'Donnell among MWL leaders in the month:

O'Donnell : Batting .356, 6 HR, 21 RBI. 4 th in OPS (1.047), 4 th in Slugging Pct. (.654), 2 nd in extra base hits (15), 1 st in hits (37).

Collier : Batting .338, 5 HR, 20 RBI. 3 rd in OPS (1.157), 2 nd in OBP (.490), 2 nd in Slugging Pct. (.667), T-2 nd in runs (21).

Balcazar : Batting .341, 4 HR, 19 RBI. 6 th in OPS (.963), 5 th in Slugging Pct. (.589), T-3 rd in hits (31).

Player Notes

Leo Balcazar over his last 31 games: 43 for 123 (.350), 6 HR, 7 2B, 1 3B, 26 RBI, 4 SB.

Ethan O'Donnell over his last 28 games: 42 for 115 (.365), 6 HR, 6 2B, 4 3B, 22 RBI. O'Donnell has four home runs on this long homestand including the six games vs. Cedar Rapids.

Cam Collier over his last 25 games: 28 for 79 (.354), 6 HR, 23 RBI, 7 2B, 1 3B, 26 BB.

New Dragons catcher/first baseman John Michael Faile finished his five-year college career at North Greenville University as the all-time leader in home runs and RBI for the NCAA Division II level, hitting over .400 two times and winning his conference's triple crown once. Faile hit home runs in each of his first three games with the Dragons including a grand slam in his third game.

Arij Fransen over his last 12 G: 1.30 ERA, 34.2 IP, 5 R.

John Murphy has allowed earned runs in only two of 25 appearances since May 1. His 1.93 ERA in 2024 is fifth among MWL pitchers with 35+ IP.

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

Saturday, August 31 (7:05 pm): West Michigan LH Joe Miller (3-4, 4.30) at Dayton RH Mason Pelio (0-3, 9.30)

Sunday, Sept. 1 (1:05 pm): West Michigan RH Carlos Marcano (3-10, 3.71) at Dayton RH Gabriel Aguilera (3-4, 4.76)

Dragons Ticket Information : daytondragons.com/tickets Dragons 2024 Schedule : milb.com/dayton/schedule

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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