Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Thursday (6:05 PM at Great Lakes)
MWL Dayton Dragons

Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Thursday (6:05 PM at Great Lakes)

Published on April 16, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Thursday, April 16, 2026 l Game # 11

Dow Diamond l Midland, Mich. l 6:05 p.m.

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

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

Dayton Dragons (4-6) at Great Lakes Loons (8-3)

RH Luke Hayden (0-0, 4.50) vs. LH Sterling Patick (0-0, 1.86)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Great Lakes Loons (affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) in the third game of a six-game series. Current Series: Great Lakes 2, Dayton 0.

Last Game: Wednesday: Great Lakes 6, Dayton 5. The Loons scored five runs in the fifth inning, capped off by a three-run home run by Eduardo Quintero, as they overcame a 3-0 deficit. The Dragons broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the top of the fourth, all coming on a bases loaded triple by Anthony Stephan. The Dragons bullpen was again sensational, as Victor Diaz and Trent Hodgdon tossed a combined three and one-third scoreless innings to give the club a chance to win. Trailing 6-5, Dayton left runners at second and third in the eighth and left a runner at second in the ninth to suffer their third straight loss.

Hardest-hit ball by Dayton: Kien Vu: 107.8 mph (ground out). Fastest pitch by Dayton: Victor Diaz: 96.3 mph

2026 Player and Team Notes:

Last night's game marked the first time this season that the Dragons lost a game that they had led at any point.

In the Dragons last three losses, they are hitting .129 with runners in scoring position (4 for 31) and .192 overall (19 for 99). In the three previous games, all wins, they hit .353 with RISP (12 for 34) and .268 overall (26-97).

The Dragons bullpen ERA of 2.25 ranks first in all MiLB (120 teams), followed by Great Lakes at 2.42. The third ranked team, Fort Myers, is at 2.67. Dragons relievers have not surrendered a lead after the fifth inning of a game this season. Overall, the Dragons rank fourth in the Midwest League in team ERA (3.68) with Dayton starting pitchers ranking eighth (5.11).

Ryan McCrystal hit safely in the first six games he played in this season before going 0 for 3 with a walk and sacrifice fly last night. His batting average of .346 ranks ninth in the MWL. He is 16th in OPS (.957).

Alfredo Duno reached base with a hit or walk in his first eight games, but he has not reached in the current series with Great Lakes, going 0 for 9. He ranks third in the MWL in walks (10).

The Dragons have scored at least four runs in five of their last six games, splitting those six contests.

Dragons opponents are batting just .233 against Dayton pitchers with 78 hits and 108 strikeouts in 10 games.

For the week of April 6-12, the Dayton batter of the week was Ryan McCrystal (6 for 15, .400, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1.138 OPS). The pitcher of the week was Beau Blanchard (6 IP, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 1-0, 0.83 WHIP).

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

Friday, April 17 (6:05 pm): Dayton RH Cole Schoenwetter (1-0, 6.35) at Great Lakes LH Zach Root (0-1, 9.82)

Saturday, April 18 (1:05 pm): Dayton RH Beau Blanchard (1-0, 4.22) at Great Lakes RH Christian Zazueta (0-1, 4.70)

Sunday, April 19 (1:05 pm): Dayton RH Nestor Lorant (0-2, 6.00) at Great Lakes RH Aidan Foeller (0-0, 0.84)

Next Home Series: April 21-26 vs. South Bend Cubs at Day Air Ballpark.

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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