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MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday August 25th

August 25, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the South Bend Silver Hawks (affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks) in the second game of a four-game series.

Season Series: Dayton 5, South Bend 4 (At South Bend: South Bend 3, Dayton 2).

Dayton in This Series: 0-1 (Team Batting Average: .333; Team ERA: 7.88).

The Race: Dayton will qualify for the playoffs by finishing in the top two among the four teams battling for an Eastern Division 2nd Half playoff berth. Entering tonight's games, Dayton is tied with South Bend for the #2 seed in the second half race with 13 games to play. Dayton and South Bend have six head-to-head games remaining on the schedule.

Last Game: South Bend defeated Dayton 7-3 in the first game of the series on Monday. South Bend scored six runs in eight singles in the seventh inning to come back from a 2-1 deficit for the win. Jake Elmore's two-run single broke a 2-2 tie. Dayton's J.C. Sulbaran allowed just four runners on base and one run over the first six innings but was charged with the first two runs in the seventh and took the loss. The Dragons had 10 hits including two by both Humberto Sosa and Alex Oliveras.

Today's Starting Pitcher: Ezequiel Infante makes his fifth start for the Dragons. In his last start on Friday vs. West Michigan, Infante pitched well but was not involved in the decision (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO). He is 0-1, 3.43 in four starts after going 1-0, 1.72 in eight relief appearances with the Dragons. Infante started the 2009 season in extended spring training before debuting with Billings when the Pioneer League season began in June. With the Mustangs, he pitched in just three games (1-0, 1.42) before being promoted to the Dragons on July 4. In 2008, Infante pitched with the DSL Reds and allowed just one earned run in 47 innings, posting a 0.19 ERA. He is a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

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

- Miguel Rojas is batting .335 in his last 45 games and is hitting .322 in the second half. Rojas led the MWL in July batting with a .385 average.

- Byron Wiley is batting .320 over his last 56 games since June 14 with 17 doubles, two triples, 10 HR, and 47 RBI, raising his batting average from .211 to .276.

- Alex Oliveras is batting .370 over his last 18 games (entire month of August) with 2 HR, 11 RBI, and 13 R.

- Humberto Sosa is batting .370 over his last 15 games.

- Josh Fellhauer has hit in five straight games, batting .353.

Team Notes

- The Dragons are 19-16 over their last 35 games. They have lost their last five road games since sweeping Lansing on the road 8/7-8/10.

- The Dragons are 41-28 when they score the first run of the game; 13-44 when the opponent scores first including 5-17 on the road.

Team Batting Notes

- The Dragons are batting .276 in the second half (56 games) after batting .250 in the first half (70 games).

- The Dragons are batting .275 in August to rank fourth in the league.

Team Pitching Notes

- The Dragons second half team ERA is 4.48. The first half ERA was 4.50.

- Over the last 15 games, Dragons starting pitchers have allowed 54 runs in 64.2 innings.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from August 25, 2009


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