MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday for April 20

Published on April 20, 2012 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Friday, April 20, 2012 * Game # 15

Fifth Third Field * Dayton, Ohio * 7:05 p.m.

Radio: WONE-AM 980 * TV: WHIO 7.2

Quad Cities River Bandits (10-4) at Dayton Dragons (6-8)

LH Kyle Hald (0-1, 3.00) vs. RH Carlos Gonzalez (0-2, 8.10)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Quad Cities River Bandits (affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) in the second game of a three-game series. Quad Cities is the defending Midwest League champions. This series will be followed by a three-game set against Cedar Rapids.

Last Game: Dayton lost to Quad Cities in the series opener last night, 5-4 in 13 innings. The Dragons built an early 4-0 lead, getting a pair of RBI triples in the second inning from Kyle Waldrop and Theo Bowe to key the attack. But Quad Cities started back in the sixth and eventually tied the game in the eighth at 4-4. The eventual winning run in the 13th came on an unusual play. The Dragons, who had committed just five errors in seven games on the road trip, committed three errors (by three different players) on the same play, an infield popup, that allowed a run to score from first base with two outs. Dayton's 12-hit attack was led by Ryan Wright, who went 3 for 4 with a walk. Waldrop, Juan Silva, and Junior Arias each added two hits for Dayton.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Carlos Gonzalez makes his third start and fourth appearance of the season for the Dragons. Gonzalez started at South Bend on Sunday, suffering the loss (4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO). 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

* Kyle Waldrop over his last eight games: 11 for 24 (.458), three doubles, two triples, six RBI after starting the year by going 1 for his first 14. He is now batting .316.

* Yovan Gonzalez has hit safely in five straight games, going 9 for 18 (.500) with two home runs and a double. He is hitting .385 on the year. Ryan Wright is batting .393 (11 for 28) over his last seven games to raise his average to .309.

* Dragons reliever Kyle McMyne has worked seven and one-third scoreless innings, striking out nine and walking one with four hits allowed.

* Dan Jensen, a right-handed relief pitcher, becomes the first Montgomery County native to play for the Dragons in their history. Jensen is from the Dayton suburb of Centerville. He has made six appearances out of the Dayton bullpen and allowed two unearned runs in 11 innings.

Team Notes

* The Dragons committed just five errors in seven games on the road trip (ending Wednesday) leading to a total of one unearned run. However, they committed six errors last night including three on one play in the final inning leading to the eventual winning run.

* Dragons pitchers have limited opposing right-handed batters to a combined .206 average; left-handers are hitting .260 vs. the Dragons.

* Three members of the Dragons 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).

* Five current Dragons 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 and infielder Brandon Dailey.

* The Dragons roster represents the following NCAA Division I conferences: Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, Conference USA, PAC 12, Mid American, 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)

Saturday (7:05 p.m.): Dayton RH Justice French (2-1, 3.38) vs. Quad Cities RH Sam Gaviglio (1-0, 2.53)--TV (Channel 7.2; Time Warner 23, 372)

Sunday (4:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Radhames Quezada (0-1, 2.57) vs. Cedar Rapids LH Eswarlin Jimenez (0-1, 9.95)

Monday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton LH Tanner Robles (1-0, 3.06) vs. Cedar Rapids LH Ryan Crowley (1-1, 3.07)

Tuesday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Stalin Gerson (1-1, 3.78) vs. Cedar Rapids RH Jairo Diaz (1-1, 5.87)

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from April 20, 2012


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