MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday for April 10

Published on April 10, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Tuesday, April 10, 2012 * Game # 5

Fifth Third Field * Dayton, Ohio * 7:00 p.m.

Radio: WONE-AM 980

Lansing Lugnuts (4-0) at Dayton Dragons (2-2)

RH Jesse Hernandez (4-4, 4.28 w/Vancouver in '11) vs. RH Carlos Gonzalez (2-4, 4.83 w/AZL Reds/Billings in '11)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Lansing Lugnuts (affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays) in the second game of a three-game series. This is game five of the Dragons six-game homestand. Season Series in 2011: Dayton 9, Lansing 7 (at Dayton: Dragons 5, Lugnuts 4). Overall, 2011: Dayton finished with an overall record of 83-57 (35-35 in the first half; 48-22 in the second half). Lansing went 77-60 (38-29 in the first half; 39-31 in the second half). Lansing defeated Dayton, 2 games to 1, in the first round of the Eastern Division playoffs.

Last Game: Lansing defeated Dayton 8-0 in the first game of the series. The Lugnuts belted three home runs over the first five innings, getting solo shots from Kenny Wilson and Chris Hawkins and a two-run blast from Kevin Patterson. The Dragons were limited to three hits (singles by Ryan Wright, Sean Buckley, and Junior Arias). Lansing finished with 14 hits including three apiece by Hawkins and K.C. Hobson. Hobson also drove in three runs.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Carlos Gonzalez makes his first start and second appearance of the season for the Dragons. Gonzalez pitched one perfect inning out of the bullpen on Friday vs. West Michigan. He was drafted by the Reds in the 21st round in 2011 and went 2-4, 4.83 with the AZL Reds and Billings in his first season of professional baseball. Gonzalez spent one season at Cal State Northridge, going 1-4, 5.36 in 17 games (10 starts) in 2011. He spent the 2010 season at Pierce College. Gonzalez was the captain of high school team. The team won the 2006 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Los Angeles City Championship (125 schools). He was named Valley Mission League Player of the Year and First Team All-City (Los Angeles) as high school senior in 2008.

Manager/Coaches: Delino DeShields is in his second season with the Dragons and fourth year in the Reds organization. He served as the manager of the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League in 2010 and was the hitting coach in Billings in 2009. As a player, DeShields spent 13 years in the Major Leagues from 1990-2002 with the Expos, Dodgers, Orioles, Cardinals, and Cubs. He finished in the top three in the league in stolen bases six times and is 46th on the all-time career list with 463. DeShields hit .290 or higher five times. He was the 12th selection of the first round of the June draft in 1987 by Montreal. DeShields finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1990...Pitching coach Tom Browning is in his first season with the Dragons and sixth year as a pitching coach in the Reds organization. Browning threw the only perfect game in Reds history on September 16, 1988. He won 20 games for the Reds in 1985 pitched in the 1991 All-Star Game. He was inducted into the Reds Hall-of-Fame in 2006...Hitting coach Alex Pelaez is in his second season with the Dragons and third year as a minor league coach with the Reds. He helped the Dragons to a club record team batting average in 2011 when the team led the league in runs scored. Pelaez played professionally for eight seasons from 1998-2005. He played in the big leagues in 2002 with San Diego.

Individual Notes

* Ryan Wright has collected hits in all four Dragons games.

* Wright, Steve Selsky, Sean Buckley, and Junior Arias have started all four Dragons games and played all 38 innings of the season.

* Juan Perez is 3 for 8, .375. He ranks second in the league in slugging percentage at .875 and is tied for the league lead in triples with two.

* Selsky has gone 6 for 17, batting .353. He is tied for second in the Midwest League in hits.

* Dan Jensen, a right-handed relief pitcher, becomes the first Montgomery County native to play for the Dragons in their history. Jensen played at Sinclair Community College and the University of Cincinnati.

* Sean Buckley was selected as a full-season Pioneer League all-star with Billings last season after hitting 14 home runs in just 59 games.

Team Notes

* Entering last night's game, the Dragons had trailed at the end of only two innings this season (end of first inning Friday, end of 11th inning Saturday). Lansing's Kenny Wilson hit the second pitch of last night's game for a home run and the Lugnuts were never caught.

* The Dragons have been successful on seven of eight stolen base attempts and rank fourth in the league. They led all of professional baseball in stolen bases in 2011. Dragons opponents have stolen only two bases this season.

* Dragons pitchers have retired the lead-off man in 32 of 38 innings this season. Opponents are 5 for 37 (.135) with a walk leading off an inning. Dragons pitchers have limited opponents to a .071 batting average (1 for 14) with runners in scoring position and two outs.

* Three members of the Dragons Opening Night roster are rated among the Reds top 30 prospects according to Baseball America. They include outfielder Kyle Waldrop (#22), second baseman Ryan Wright (#23), and first baseman Sean Buckley (#24).

* Four members of the Dragons roster played in Dayton in 2011, including outfielders Theo Bowe and Jefry Sierra, both of whom started all three Dragons playoff games last year. The others are starting pitchers Tanner Robles and Stalin Gerson.

* The Dragons roster represents the following NCAA Division I conferences: Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Conference USA, PAC 12, Atlantic 10, Big West, and the Atlantic Sun.

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

Wednesday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Justice French (1-0, 0.00) vs. Lansing RH Noah Syndergaard (5-2, 1.53 w/Bluefield/Vancouver/Lansing in '11)

Thursday (7:05 p.m.): Dayton RH Radhames Quezada (0-0, 2.25) at South Bend RH Jeffrey Shields (0-1, 3.60)

Friday (7:35 p.m.): Dayton LH Tanner Robles (0-0, 1.50) at South Bend LH John Pedrotty (0-0, 3.38)

Saturday (7:05 p.m.): Dayton RH Stalin Gerson (0-1, 8.31) at South Bend RH Jesse Darrah (1-0, 0.00)

Sunday (2:05 p.m.): Dayton RH Carlos Gonzalez at South Bend RH J.R. Bradley

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from April 10, 2012


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