MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Game Notes July 9th

Published on July 9, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Clinton LumberKings (affiliate of the Seattle Mariners) in the second game of a three game series.

Season Series: Dayton 2, Clinton 2. (At Clinton: Dayton 1, Clinton 0).

Dayton on the Current Road Trip: 2-3 (first four games at West Michigan).

Last Game: Dayton opened the series with a 6-1 win over Clinton. The Dragons scored in six different innings and collected 14 hits. Byron Wiley had three hits and a walk while Josh Fellhauer, Kevin Coddington, Andrew Means, and Miguel Rojas all had two hits. Matt Fairel tossed six and two-thirds strong innings for the win, allowing seven hits and one run with one walk and four strikeouts. Scott Gaffney went the final two and one-third for the save. The Dragons took the lead in the top of the first inning and were never caught.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Curtis Partch makes his 16th start of the season for the Dragons tonight. He has not faced Clinton this season. Partch enjoyed five straight outstanding starts (four with the Dragons plus a spot start with Double-A Carolina) from May 20-June 10 in which he allowed two runs or less in all five starts. But he has not won over his last four starts, going 0-3, 20 IP, 15 ER). He lost his last start Saturday at West Michigan (6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO). Partch returns to the Dragons after going 5-11, 5.00 with the club in 2008 when he spent the entire season and post-season on the Dayton active roster. Partch is a native of Merced, California and played at Merced Junior College. He was drafted by the Reds in the 26th round in 2007. Partch finished strong in 2008, posting a 2.78 ERA over his final 10 games (four starts) over the last six weeks of the season. Partch was the Reds Pitcher of the Year in their 2008 Florida Instructional League program.

Skipper: Todd Benzinger makes his professional baseball managerial debut in 2009. Benzinger enjoyed a nine-year major league playing career from 1987-1995 with the Reds, Red Sox, Royals, Dodgers, and Giants. Todd is a former first baseman who recorded the final putout of the 1990 World Series with the Reds to complete their four-game sweep of the Oakland A's. Benzinger is a native of the Cincinnati area and currently resides in West Chester, Ohio. He has enjoyed a highly-successful career coaching girls' high school basketball since 1999.

Individual Notes

- Byron Wiley is batting .411 with five doubles, a triple, seven HR, and 22 RBI in his last 15 games, posting a slugging percentage of .911. Wiley is 8 for 14 with four HR and five walks in the last four games.

- Kevin Coddington is batting .333 over his last 26 games, raising his average from .281 to .300.

- Andrew Means is batting .329 over his last 18 games.

- Miguel Rojas is batting .327 in the second half and has raised his batting average to a season-high .250.

- Tony Brown is 6 for 15, .400 on the current road trip.

Team Notes

- After 13 games in the second half, the Dragons tied with Great Lakes for the final spot in the second half playoff race.

- The Dragons are 24-25 over their last 49 games. They are 32-38 over their last 70 games after starting the season 1-12.

- The Dragons are 2-6 in July with a team batting average of .262 and a team ERA of 6.26.

- Twenty of the Dragons 44 road games this season have been one-run games. They are 5-15 in one-run road games.

Team Batting Notes

- The Dragons are batting .285 as a team over the last 21 games.

- The Dragons are batting .281 in the second half (13 games) after batting .250 in the first half (70 games).

Team Pitching Notes

- From Opening Night (April 9) through May 15, Dragons starting pitchers were a combined 4-14 with a 5.87 ERA. Since May 15th, Dragons starting pitchers are 16-15 with a 3.84 ERA.

- The Dragons have posted a 3.81 ERA as a team in their last 49 games.

- The Dragons second half team ERA has jumped from 3.58 to 4.74 since Saturday's game.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from July 9, 2009


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