MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Saturday (7:05 at West Michigan)

July 1, 2023 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Saturday, July 1, 2023lGame # 8 (74)

LMCU Ballparkl Grand Rapids, Mich. l7:05 p.m.

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

Dayton Dragons (5-2, 38-35) at West Michigan Whitecaps (4-3, 36-36)

RH Julian Aguiar (4-1, 1.97) vs. RH Garrett Burhenn (4-3, 3.00)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the West Michigan Whitecaps (affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) in the fifth game of a six-game series.

Last Games: Friday (DH): Game 1: Dayton 7, West Michigan 6 (8 innings). Game 2: West Michigan 4, Dayton 3 (8 innings). In game one, Tyler Callihan's pinch hit home run in the top of the sixth capped a five-run inning as the Dragons erased a 4-0 deficit. It was the first Dragons pinch hit homer since May 9, 2021, when Bren Spillane connected. The game went to extra innings before Callihan broke a 5-5 tie with a two-out RBI hit in the eighth. In game two, the Dragons took a 3-0 lead to the bottom of the seventh before West Michigan scored three in the inning to send the game to extra innings, then won it on a bloop hit with two outs in the eighth. It was the first time the Dragons lost a game in which they held a three-run lead at any point in the game since May 21. They have five wins since May 21 in games in which they trailed by three or more.

Current Series (June 28-July 2 at West Michigan): Dayton is 2-2 in the series.

Dayton team statistics in the series: .223 batting average; 5.3 runs/game; 5 home runs; 3 stolen bases; 4.28 ERA; 3 errors.

Team Notes

The Dragons are 5-2 in the second half. They opened the second half with four straight wins for the first time since 2002, when they started the second half by winning their first 11 games.

The Dragons went 15-11 in June, the same record they posted in May. They were 8-13 in April.

The Dragons team ERA since April 30 is 3.18, third in full season Minor League Baseball (120 teams). They are 31-22 since April 30.

Player Notes

The Dragons top hitters in June were Justice Thompson (.306, 3 HR), Edwin Arroyo (.299, 3 HR), Jack Rogers (.311, 8 doubles), and Austin Callahan (.281, 4 HR, team-leading 19 RBI).

The Dragons top pitchers in June were Owen Holt (3-0, 0.63 ERA), Jake Gozzo (0.79 ERA, 2 Sv, 1 W), Chase Petty (1.69 ERA in 16 innings, and Braxton Roxby (1.80 ERA, 2-0, 2 Sv).

Austin Callahan has a seven-game hitting streak, going 10 for 27 (.370) with five doubles and a home run. For the season, he leads the MWL in doubles and extra base hits.

Jack Rogers is batting .324 with seven doubles and two triples over his last 19 games to raise his batting average from .203 to .247.

Dragons starting pitcher Julian Aguiar leads the MWL in ERA (1.97) and is first in opponent batting average (.170). He was named MWL Pitcher of the Month and Cincinnati Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month for May (22 IP, 1 ER).

Starting pitcher Jose Acuña has a 2.40 ERA. He would rank second in the league behind Aguiar but is one inning short of qualifying.

Starting pitcher Chase Petty has an ERA of 1.13 in 32 innings (eight starts). He missed the first month of the season.

Owen Holt over his last 8 G: 15.2 IP, 3 R, 1 R, 0.57 ERA (since May 28).

Myles Gayman over his last 11 G: 4-1, 22 IP, 5 R, 3 ER, 1.23 ERA (since May 16).

Braxton Roxby over his last 13 G: 2-0, 3 Sv, 19.2 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 1.37 ERA (since May 14)...over his last 4 G: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB (since June 15).

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

Sunday, July 2 (6:05 pm): Dayton RH Jose Acuña (5-0, 2.40) at West Michigan RH Troy Melton (1-0, 0.92)

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from July 1, 2023


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