MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday for Thursday, August 11

Published on August 11, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Dragons GameDay

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Fifth Third Ballpark * Comstock Park, Mich.

7:00 p.m. * Game # 115 (45)

Radio: WONE-AM 980

* ***

Dayton Dragons (29-15, 64-50) at West Michigan Whitecaps (24-21, 56-58)

RH Stalin Gerson (4-1, 3.45) vs. LH Brian Flynn (4-1, 3.45)

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the West Michigan Whitecaps (affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) in the second game of a three-game series. Season Series: Dayton 6, West Michigan 5, (at West Michigan: Whitecaps 3, Dragons 1).

Streaks: Dayton has won four straight games and six of their last seven.

Last Night: Dayton defeated West Michigan 5-3 to earn their fourth straight win. The Dragons trailed 3-0 after six innings and had not advanced a runner past first base, but they scored three runs in the seventh. Drew Poulk's RBI double brought in the tying run. Poulk's two-run double in the top of the ninth broke the tie, and Drew Hayes pitched out of a bases loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the inning for the save. Donald Lutz was 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI for Dayton.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Stalin Gerson makes his 10th appearance for the Dragons and his ninth start tonight. He earned the win in his last appearance seven days ago, last Thursday vs. West Michigan, in his only relief appearances of 2011 (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, only run on a solo home run by James Robbins). Over Gerson's first four starts with the Dragons, he was 3-0, 0.75, allowing two earned runs in 24 innings. Over his last five appearances, he has allowed 16 runs in 20.1 innings. Gerson joined the Dragons in June from extended spring training for two starts (1-0, 0.82) and then was assigned to Billings, where he earned Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week (2-0, 0.75). He returned to the Dragons at the start of July. Gerson pitched last season with Billings of the Pioneer League and posted a record of 3-4 with a 4.88 earned run average in 15 starts. Gerson was signed by the Reds as an international free agent prior to the 2008 season and spent two years in the Dominican Summer League.

Individual Notes

* Ronald Torreyes leads the classification (Midwest League and South Atlantic League; 30 teams) in second half base hits (64). In the half, he is third in the MWL batting average (.358) and tied for first in runs (39) (starting June 24). Torreyes is batting .364 since joining the club on June 17.

* Billy Hamilton is batting .320 over his last 35 games, raising his average from .223 to .255. He has 78 stolen bases to set the Dragons club record for single-season and career steals. He leads all of professional baseball in steals. No other Minor League player has stolen more than 76 bases in a season since 2006, when Eric Young of Asheville stole 87. Hamilton is also second in the league in runs scored for the year.

* David Vidal is batting .348 with 10 HR and 42 RBI in his last 43 games, raising his average from .267 to .301 (10th in the MWL).

* Daniel Wolford over his last 28 G: 45.1 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 0.60 ERA to lower his season ERA from 4.50 to 1.41. He has not allowed a run since June 9 (16 games, 26.1 innings).

* Blaine Howell has been unscored upon in 13 of his last 15 appearances. Over the span, he has allowed three runs in 20 innings (1.35 ERA).

* Drew Hayes has not allowed a run over his last eight outings covering 8.1 innings. His 19 saves rank tied for first in the MWL.

* Chad Rogers has allowed no runs over his last seven outings covering 12.2 innings.

Team Notes

* With 26 games to play in the second half, the Dragons have a five and one-half game cushion to earn a second-half playoff berth. The top two second half clubs among a group of Dayton, Great Lakes, West Michigan, Fort Wayne, Lake County, and South Bend will qualify.

* Dayton has held at least a share of first place for the last 43 days (since June 29). They have been in first place for all but four days of the half.

* The Dragons have held their opponent to 3 runs or less in 7 straight games and 2 runs or less in 5 of the last 7 (10 runs allowed in the last 7 games). On the current trip, Dayton pitchers have tossed 33 innings and allowed four runs (two earned) in four games.

* The Dragons are batting .279 in the second half (44 games) after hitting .241 in the first half (70 games). The Dragons are averaging 5.7 runs per game in the second half (4.23 in the first half). The Dragons led the league in team batting in July at .285.

* The Dragons have stolen 176 bases to rank first in all of professional baseball. They have already broken the club record for a season.

* Five Dragons are rated among the Reds top 30 prospects according to Baseball America. They include shortstop Billy Hamilton (#2), starting pitcher Kyle Lotzkar (#10), starting pitcher Daniel Corcino (#15), second baseman Ronald Torreyes (#22) and outfielder Juan Duran (#28).

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

Friday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Josh Smith (10-6, 2.94) at West Michigan RH Victor Larez (2-2, 6.14)

Saturday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton LH Mitch Clarke (3-1, 1.33) vs. Lake County TBA

Sunday (2:00 p.m. suspended doubleheader): Dayton RH Brian Pearl (0-0, 3.94) and RH Kyle Lotzkar (1-1, 5.12) vs. Lake County TBA

Monday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton RH Daniel Corcino (9-6, 3.41) vs. Lake County TBA

East Division 2nd Half Playoff Race

(Top Two Teams Qualify)

Dayton 29-15 --- Great Lakes 25-20 -4.5

West Michigan 24-21 -5.5

Fort Wayne 23-22 -6.5

South Bend 21-24 -8.5

Lake County 18-26 -11.0

Note: East Division clubs Lansing and Bowling Green are not eligible for second half playoff slots after qualifying in the first half.

Dragons Best Records after 44 Games in a Half in Recent Years

Rec. Year Half Final

30-14 2007 First Half 44-26

29-15 2011 Second Half N/A

26-18 2008 Second Half 37-32

23-21 2006 Second Half 32-38

23-21 2007 Second Half 34-36

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from August 11, 2011


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