MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday for Monday, May 9

Published on May 9, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Monday, May 9, 2011 * Game # 32

Fifth Third Ballpark * Comstock Park, Mich. * 6:35 p.m.

Radio: WONE-AM 980

Dayton Dragons (15-16) at West Michigan Whitecaps (12-17)

RH Josh Smith (2-2, 1.59) vs. RH Brennan Smith (0-1, 3.00)

Today's Game: The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Whitecaps (affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) in the finale of a three-game set. Season Series: Dayton 3, West Michigan 2. Streaks: Dayton has lost 7 of their last 8 after winning 12 of 13. West Michigan has won four straight.

Last Game: West Michigan defeated Dayton 8-0 on Sunday afternoon. Whitecaps starting pitcher Kyle Ryan and two relievers tossed an 8-hit shutout. Ryan Hamme, in his first game in the Tigers organization, went 4 for 4 for West Michigan while James Robbins hit a three-run homer. Dayton went 0 for 10 with men in scoring position and 0 for 13 with men on base. Dominic D'Anna and Juan Duran each had two hits for the Dragons.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Josh Smith makes his seventh start of the season tonight. Smith started vs. South Bend on Wednesday and suffered the loss (5 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO). Smith was the Dragons Pitcher of the Month for April (2-1, 0.93 ERA, 5 starts). Smith is a 23-year-old native of Margate, Florida who was signed by the Reds as a #21 draft pick in 2010 out of Lipscomb University. Smith was an Atlantic Sun Conference 1st Team selection in 2010 at Lipscomb University, where he went 8-4, 4.66 in 14 starts with four complete games including three straight nine-inning complete games March 26-April 9. On two occasions, Smith struck out 15 batters in a game. He finished fourth among all NCAA Division I pitchers in strikeouts.

Manager/Coaches: Delino DeShields is in his first season with the Dragons and third year in the Reds organization. He served as the manager of the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League last season, leading the club to a record of 38-37. 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. DeShields finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1990...Pitching coach Tony Fossas is in his third season with the Dragons and third year in the Reds organization. Fossas pitched in the Major Leagues from 1988-1999 as a relief pitcher, appearing in 567 big league games with Boston, St. Louis, and five other clubs...Hitting coach Alex Pelaez is in his first season with the Dragons. He served as the hitting coach with Billings last season. Pelaez played professionally for eight seasons from 1998-2005. He played in the big leagues in 2002 with the San Diego Padres.

Individual Notes

* Billy Hamilton has 22 stolen bases to lead all of professional baseball. Hamilton led the Reds organization in stolen bases (48) in 2010 despite playing in a "short-season" league.

* David Vidal has hit home runs in two of the last three games (his first two of the year). Vidal has hit safely in five straight games.

* Josh Smith has a 1.59 ERA on the year that ranks tied for sixth in the league. He leads the league in strikeouts.

* Juan Duran has hit safely in six straight games, batting .350.

* Drew Hayes has allowed only one hit and no runs over his last six appearances covering 7.2 innings with two walks and 13 strikeouts. Hayes is averaging 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings to rank fifth among Midwest League relievers.

* Pat Doyle has allowed just one run over his last four appearances covering 10 innings.

Team Notes

* The Dragons are 13-8 since starting the year at 2-8, but they have lost seven of the last eight games and six straight road games.

* The Dragons are batting .199 in eight May games, averaging 2.1 runs per game.

* In the Dragons last six games, they have scored 12 runs over the first five innings but only one run after the fifth inning.

* Dayton is 11-5 at home this season; 4-11 on the road.

* The Dragons have stolen 55 bases. They are third in professional baseball, trailing Fresno (61) of the Pacific Coast League and Lancaster (58) of the California League.

* In the Dragons 31 games this season, the team with the lead at the end of seven innings has gone 30-0 (one game tied after seven). There has not been a game in which a team trailing after seven innings came back to win the game (note: for seven-inning games, end of fifth). The team leading at the end of the fifth inning in all games has gone 25-2 with four games tied after five.

* Four members of the Dragons Opening Night roster are rated among the Reds top 30 prospects according to Baseball America. They include shortstop Billy Hamilton (#2), outfielder Yorman Rodriguez (#5), starting pitcher Daniel Corcino (#15) and outfielder Juan Duran (#28). Additionally, starting pitcher Daniel Tuttle was named as the #31 prospect in the magazine's special supplement.

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

Tuesday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Daniel Corcino (4-2, 3.94) vs. Lake County RH Kyle Blair (2-0, 3.38)

Wednesday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Daniel Tuttle (2-0, 5.19) vs. Lake County RH Cole Cook (1-3, 4.66)

Thursday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton LH Tanner Robles (2-3, 5.73) vs. Lake County RH Steven Wright (0-0, 2.75) -TV (WHIO Digital Channel 7.2)

Friday (7:05 p.m.): Dayton RH Daniel Renken (1-4, 3.78) at Fort Wayne TBA

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 9, 2011


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