Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Saturday (2:00 PM at West Michigan)
MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Saturday (2:00 PM at West Michigan)

Published on May 9, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Saturday, May 9, 2026 l Game # 32

LMCU Ballpark l Grand Rapids, Mich. l 2:00 pm

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

TV: MLB App, MiLB TV, Bally Sports Live Ohio

Dayton Dragons (17-14) at West Michigan Whitecaps (12-19)

RH Reynardo Cruz (0-1, 6.87) vs. LH Gabriel Reyes (0-2, 5.06)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) battle the West Michigan Whitecaps (affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) in the fifth game of a six-game series. Season Series: Dayton 4, West Michigan 0. Dayton is 7-4 on the current 13-game road trip.

Dragons in the Standings: W-L Record: 17-14, second place in MWL East Division, 2 games behind first place Great Lakes.

Last Game: Friday: Dayton 8, West Michigan 0. The Dragons hit four home runs in a game for the first time since August 23, 2024. Carlos Sanchez had two homers, the first multi-hit game by a Dayton player since May 16, 2025 (Connor Burns). Ariel Almonte and Victor Acosta also homered. Nestor Lorant fired seven scoreless innings, longest start by a Dragon since Brian Edgington went seven on May 16, 2025. Sanchez had three hits while Alfredo Duno had two.

Current Series at West Michigan (5/5-5/10): Dayton 4, West Michigan 0. The Dragons have outscored the Whitecaps 25-12. Dayton is batting .259 as a team (.250 with runners in scoring position). They have hit nine home runs with one stolen base, a team ERA of 3.00, and committed 2 errors.

Dragons Team and Player Trending Notes:

The Dragons have won four straight games to establish their longest winning streak of the year. They are three games over .500 for the first time this season.

The Dragons have hit home runs in five straight games for the first time since June 22-28, 2025. They have hit 12 homers in those five games. The Dragons have hit 18 home runs in their last 15 games after hitting five in their first 16 games... Since the start of the current road trip on April 28, the Dragons lead the MWL lead in extra base hits with 38. The Dragons are batting .273 on the road trip, the second highest team average in the MWL during that span.

Victor Acosta joined the team on Tuesday from the ACL Reds and has started each game of this series. He hit his first home run Friday night.

Alfredo Alcantara in his last 12 games is batting .311 (14 for 45) with 2 HR.

Ariel Almonte has hit home runs in each of his last 3 G, matching the longest home run streak by a Dragon in the last 20 seasons.

Yerlin Confidan in his last 13 games is batting .326 (15 for 46) with 1 HR, 4 2B, 9 RBI.

Alfredo Duno on the road trip: 8 G, batting .364 (12 for 33), 4 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI. Prior to the start of the trip, he was 4 for his last 36 in 10 games.

John Michael Faile in his last 8 G is hitting .355 (11 for 31) with 2 2B and only 3 SO.

Esmith Pineda in his last 13 G: .319 (13 for 42).

Carlos Sanchez snapped a 1 for 14 slump last night, going 3 for 5 with 2 HR and 3 R.

Kien Vu in his last 13 G is batting .294 (15 for 51) with 4 HR, 3 2B, 1 3B, 12 RBI, 12 R, 4 SB, and an OPS of 1.017.

-- Ariel Almonte has hit home runs in his last three game appearances. This is the 13 th time since 2005 that a Dayton player has hit homers in three straight games including Almonte last season and John Michael Faile in 2024. In 2000, Dragons outfielder Austin Kearns homered in eight straight. Kien Vu has an active 2G streak.

--Nestor Lorant has a scoreless streak of 19.2 innings. Lorant in his last 4 G: 21.2 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 8 BB, 28 SO.

--Victor Diaz has not allowed an earned run in his last 6 G: (10.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 ER, 7 BB, 14 SO, 3 Sv, 1-0).

--Carter Graham is the Dragons Batter of the Week for April 28-May 3 (series at Lansing). Graham hit .450 (9 for 20) for the week with one home run, three doubles, and an OPS of 1.272. The Pitcher of the Week is Nestor Lorant for the second straight week. He made one start, tossing 5.2 scoreless innings to earn the win while striking out seven, surrendering three hits and two walks.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM)

Sunday, May 10 (2:00 pm): Dayton RH J.P. Ortiz (3-1, 5.11) at West Michigan RH Carlos Marcano (0-1, 3.06)

Tuesday, May 12 (7:05 pm): Lake County TBA at Dayton RH Beau Blanchard (3-2, 4.28)

How to Watch/Listen: Dragons radio broadcasts of all home and road games are also available on FOX Sports 980 WONE (980 AM), at daytondragons.com, and via the Dragons Mobile App. Additionally, the Dragons will televise 15 games locally over-the-air on Dayton's CW (Channel 26; Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013). First telecast is May 15. All 2026 home and road Dragons can be viewed free of charge on the Bally Sports Live app (look for Bally Live Ohio) or on the internet at Ballysportslive.com (click on Bally Sports Live Ohio or the MiLB Zone). All games are also available by subscription on the MLB App and the MiLB App. Games in Dayton will be Dragons productions; games on the road will be produced by the opposing team.

Dragons Ticket Information: daytondragons.com/tickets Dragons 2026 Schedule: milb.com/dayton/schedule

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 9, 2026


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