MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday for Monday, August 23

Published on August 23, 2010 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Monday, August 23, 2010 * Game # 124 (55)

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

Radio: 1410 ESPN Radio WING-AM

Lake County Captains (26-29, 70-54) at Dayton Dragons (14-40, 44-79)

LH Vidal Nuno (5-6, 5.05) vs. RH Clayton Shunick (1-1, 3.47)

Today's Game: The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Captains (affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) in the third game of a four-game set. Season Series: Lake County 12, Dayton 6. (At Dayton: Dayton 3, Lake County 2).

Streaks: Dayton: Won 2 (Won 3 of last 5; 7-32 over last 39 games). Lake County: Lost 2.

Last Game: Dayton won its second straight game in the series, defeating Lake County 12-7. Henry Rodriguez and Justin Reed each hit two-run home runs for Dayton and Didi Gregorius had a single, double, and triple. Rodriguez drove in four runs while Reed and Gregorius each drove in two. The 12 runs marked the highest total for the Dragons since they scored 15 against Fort Wayne on June 28. The Dragons have won consecutive home games for the first time since June 18-19 vs. Great Lakes.

Today's Starting Pitcher: Clayton Shunick makes his fifth start for the Dragons tonight. Shunick started last Wednesday at Great Lakes and earned his first Midwest League win of the season (6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO). Shunick was the Reds fifth round draft pick in 2008 out of North Carolina State University, where he earned Collegiate Baseball 2nd Team All-American honors. Shunick pitched at Billings in 2008 after being drafted but missed all of 2009 after undergoing "Tommy John" reconstructive elbow surgery. He opened this season at extended spring training before an assignment to Billings at the start of the Pioneer League season. In seven starts with the Mustangs, he went 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA. In three straight starts in July, he worked at least six innings and allowed one run or less.

Individual Notes

* Henry Rodriguez has hit safely in eight straight games, going 15 for 31, .484, to raise his batting average to .302. He is batting .333 since June 1 to raise his batting average from .260 to .302. He is hitting .336 in the second half to lead the team.

* Ryan LaMarre is batting .333 over his last 26 games to raise his batting average from .244 to .286.

* Chase Weems is batting .353 over his last six games.

* Doug Salinas over his last six games: 4 saves, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 20 SO, .163 opponents' batting average. Salinas has earned the save in four of the last five Dayton wins.

* The Dragons roster includes two players who are ranked among the Reds top 30 prospects by Baseball America. They are shortstop Didi Gregorius (#15) and pitcher J.C. Sulbaran (#25) (Sulbaran is on the disabled list).

Team Notes

* Dayton needs a win tonight to earn their first three-game home winning streak since they swept a three-game series with Fort Wayne May 10-12 at Fifth Third Field. A win tonight would give the Dragons their first three-game winning streak overall since July 7-9.

* Dayton would win the series with a win tonight. They have not won a series since sweeping three games at Bowling Green July 7-9 and have not won a home series since sweeping Fort Wayne May 10-12.

* Dayton pitchers have posted a 2.93 ERA over the last five games.

* Dayton has scored 18 runs in the last two games. This is the highest two-game total since they scored 19 on June 27-28. The Dragons have not scored more than 18 runs over any three-game stretch since they scored 19 on July 16-17-18.

* The Dragons have held the lead in nine of their last 10 games (winning four).

* The Dragons have played 15 one-run games among their 54 games in the second half. They are 3-12 in those games.

* The Dragons have held the lead in the eighth or ninth inning in seven of their 40 second half losses and were tied in the ninth inning in five other losses. Five times in the second half, the Dragons have held the lead with two outs in the final inning but lost the game.

* Dayton has led in 39 of their 79 losses.

* The Dragons bullpen has notched 26 saves this season but suffered 24 blown saves. The 24 blown saves lead the league.

* Dayton is 11-16 on the road in the second half; 3-24 at home.

* Dayton is 10-42 this season in games when they have committed more errors than their opponent.

* The Dragons have played 15 extra inning games. They are 4-3 at home; 0-8 on the road. They are 0-6 in extra innings in the second half.

* The Dragons have seven "walk-off" wins this season, three more than they had in all of 2009.

Home Stand: 2-0 .279 Batting Average 4.00 Earned Run Average 2 Errors in 2 Games

Last Road Trip: 2-4 .261 Batting Average 3.76 Earned Run Average 16 Errors in 6 Games

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time)

Tuesday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Tim Crabbe (2-6, 4.09) vs. Lake County RH Brett Brach (4-7, 2.87)

Wednesday (6:30 p.m.): Dayton RH Daniel Corcino (1-0, 1.08) at South Bend RH Adam Worthington (4-5, 4.93)

Thursday (6:30 p.m.): Dayton RH Ricky Bowen (3-8, 6.26) at South Bend RH Diogenes Rosario (4-7, 4.38)

Friday (6:30 p.m.): Dayton RH Jacob Johnson (7-6, 4.40) at South Bend LH Mike Belfiore (2-9, 3.81)

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from August 23, 2010


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