Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Saturday (7:05 PM vs. Lansing)
MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Saturday (7:05 PM vs. Lansing)

Published on July 4, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Saturday, July 4, 2026 l Game # 79 (13)

Day Air Ballpark l Dayton, Ohio l 7:05 pm

TV: MLB.TV, MLB+, Bally Sports Live Ohio

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

Lansing Lugnuts (2-11, 31-46) at Dayton Dragons (7-5, 46-32)

RH Nathan Dettmer (3-3, 3.53) vs. RH J.P. Ortiz (4-1, 5.46)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Lansing Lugnuts (affiliate of the Athletics) in the fifth game of a six-game series at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Season Series: Dayton 7, Lansing 6.

Dragons First Half Summary: Record: 39-27, East Division champs. By winning 8 of their last 9 games in the half including 2 elimination games on the final night, the Dragons overtook Great Lakes and Lake County to win the division by 1 game. The Dragons outscored their opponents 90-26 in those nine games. The Dragons previously won First Half division titles in 2001 and '07. The Dragons First Half winning percentage of .591 tied for second best in franchise history (44-26, .629 in 2007; 39-27, .591 in 2022).

Ke'Bryan Hayes with Dragons: The Reds two-time Gold Glove third baseman is continuing an expected three-day injury rehabilitation assignment with the Dragons (lumbar bulging disk). He is the third Reds player with the Dragons this season on a rehab (Jose Trevino, Nick Lodolo) and the 48 th in Dragons history.

Last Game: Friday: Dayton 6, Lansing 3. Ryan McCrystal continued his sizzling week with two hits and two RBI while Tyson Lewis and Marcus Smith hit back-to-back home runs. Kyle McCoy fired five scoreless innings. Trent Hodgdon got the final four outs for his fourth save.

Current Series: Dayton 3, Lansing 1. The Dragons have outscored the Lugnuts 28-21. Dayton is batting .294 as a team (.350 with runners in scoring position) with seven home runs, no stolen bases, and a 3.38 team ERA. The Dragons have committed six errors.

Dragons Team and Player Trending Notes:

Dragons manager Julio Morillo needs two wins to reach 200 career victories as a manager.

The Dragons are 15-6 (.714) over their last 21 G (since June 9). They lead the MWL in runs scored (161) and home runs (45) in those 21 games.

The Dragons are 33-18 (.647) since May 5. They lead the MWL in home runs during that time period (89 in 51 games).

The Dragons have hit 103 HR in 78 G, on pace to finish the year with 172 (club record: 152 in 2022).

The Dragons have scored 475 runs, on pace to finish the year with 797 (club record is 730 in 2000).

Cincinnati Reds Minor League Player of the Month for June: Carter Graham, Dayton: .354, 11 HR, 27 RBI, .829 slugging pct, 1.319 OPS with the Dragons (also played 1 G with Chattanooga and added an additional HR). Graham's 11 HR with the Dragons in June marked the second highest total in any month in Dragons history (Austin Kearns hit 14 in July, 2000). Previous Dragons who have won Reds MiLB Player/Month since the Dragons were classified as High-A in 2021 were: 2021: Brian Rey; 2022: Rece Hinds, Elly De La Cruz; 2023: Blake Dunn; 2024: Cam Collier, Sal Stewart, Ethan O'Donnell.

Cincinnati Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June: Kyle McCoy, Dayton: 2-0, 1.88 ERA, 5 G, 3 GS, 24 IP, 17 H, 5 R, 9 BB, 28 SO. Previous Dragons who have won Reds MiLB Pitcher/Month since the Dragons were classified as High-A in 2021 were: 2021: Graham Ashcraft; 2022: Andrew Abbott, Joe Boyle; 2023: Julian Aguiar; 2024: Jared Lyons, Ryan Cardona.

Dragons Hottest Hitters:

Julio Carreras in his first 4 G with the Dragons has gone 6 for 16 (.375) with 3 2B and 5 RBI. He played in 19 G with Chattanooga and hit .267, 2 HR.

Ryan McCrystal has gone 11 for 16 (.688) with 6 2B since returning to the Dragons from Double-A. McCrystal was the Dragons Co-Player/Month for April.

Marcus Smith has 2 HR in his first 10 AB with the Dragons. He began this season at Kansas City (Independent; American Association): .306, 7 HR in 33 G.

Peyton Stovall in his last 25 G is batting .341 with 6 HR, 7 2B, 2 3B, and 21 RBI with an OPS of 1.130.

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

Sunday, July 5 (1:05 pm): Lansing RH Steven Echavarria (2-6, 5.94) at Dayton RH Ty Floyd (0-1, 6.30)

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). 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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