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MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Sunday (1:05 PM vs. West Michigan)

September 1, 2024 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024 l Game # 60 (126)

Day Air Ballpark l Dayton, Ohio l 1:05 p.m.

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

West Michigan Whitecaps (32-26, 63-61) at Dayton Dragons (37-22, 71-54)

RH Carlos Marcano (3-10, 3.71) vs. RH Gabriel Aguilera (3-4, 4.76)

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

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

Last Game: Saturday: Dayton 8, West Michigan 7. The Dragons erased a 7-4 deficit to earn their sixth "walk-off" win of the year, cutting their "magic number" to clinch a playoff spot to three. Dayton tied the game with two runs in the eighth and won it with a run in the ninth when Ethan O'Donnell scored from third on John Michael Faile's infield single. Cam Collier, Carter Graham, and Hector Rodriguez all hit home runs for Dayton.

Current Series (August 27-Sept. 1 vs. West Michigan): Dayton is 2-3 in the series.

Dayton team stats in series: .242 batting average (40 for 165); 4.4 runs/game (22 R, 5 G); 6 home runs; 4 stolen bases; 6.80 ERA (45 IP, 34 ER); 6 errors.

One Way to Win It: If the Dragons win on Sunday, they would clinch a playoff berth by winning just one of the six games in Great Lakes starting Monday. If the Dragons lose on Sunday, they would need anywhere from one to three wins in Great Lakes to clinch, depending on the results of other games.

Team Notes

While going 16-6 over their last 22 games, the Dragons lead the MWL in runs, home runs, and stolen bases.

Dayton is 22-8 in one-run games (16-4 at home). They are 22-10 at home overall in the second half. Overall in 2024, they are 22-10 at home when scoring first, 35-9 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 (8,001), trailing #1 Indianapolis (8,246).

Terrific Trio: In the month of August, the Dragons are 18-9. Cam Collier, Leo Balcazar, and Ethan O'Donnell all rank in the top-5 in the MWL in RBI for the month. Here are their stat lines in August: O'Donnell: Batting .373, 6 HR, 21 RBI. Collier: Batting .329, 6 HR, 22 RBI. Balcazar: Batting .327, 5 HR, 21 RBI.

Player Notes

Leo Balcazar over his last 33 games: 44 for 132 (.333), 6 HR, 7 2B, 1 3B, 26 RBI, 4 SB.

Ethan O'Donnell over his last 30 games: 46 for 121 (.380), 6 HR, 6 2B, 4 3B, 22 RBI. O'Donnell has a 10-game hitting streak, batting .447 (17 for 38) with four home runs and 9 RBI with 4 SB.

Cam Collier over his last 27 games: 30 for 86 (.349), 7 HR, 25 RBI, 7 2B, 1 3B, 28 BB.

Hector Rodriguez over his last 9 games: 15 for 41 (.366), 3 2B, 1 3B.

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.

John Murphy has allowed earned runs in only two of 26 appearances since May 1. His 1.88 ERA in 2024 is seventh among MWL pitchers with 35+ IP.

Brody Jessee over his last 6 G: 13.1 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0.00 ERA.

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

Monday, Sept. 2 (4:05 pm): Dayton TBA at Great Lakes TBA

Tuesday, Sept. 3: Off Day

Wednesday, Sept 4 (7:05 pm): Dayton TBA at Great Lakes TBA

Thursday, Sept. 5 (7:05 pm): Dayton TBA at Great Lakes TBA

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

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