MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday for Wednesday, July 21

Published on July 21, 2010 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Wednesday, July 21, 2010 * Game # 93 (24)

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

Radio: 1410 ESPN Radio WING-AM

Cedar Rapids Kernels (13-10, 56-35) at Dayton Dragons (8-15, 38-54)

RH Ariel Pena (3-2, 4.65) vs. RH Ricky Bowen (2-3, 4.28)

Today's Game: The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Kernels (affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels) in the first game of a three-game set. Cedar Rapids won the West Division First Half title with a 43-25 record, earning a spot in the Midwest League playoffs in September. Cedar Rapids leads the 16-team circuit in batting average and runs scored. They rank fifth in team ERA.

Season Series: This is the first meeting. Streaks: Dayton: Won 1 (Lost 7 of last 8). Cedar Rapids: Won 2 after losing three straight.

Last Game: The Dragons were rained-out on Monday at Burlington. They defeated the Bees on Sunday 6-2 as Jacob Johnson fired six and one-third strong innings to earn the win. Alex Oliveras had a big two-run single and Ryan LaMarre later added a two-run homer.

Today's Starting Pitcher: Ricky Bowen will make his eighth start of the season tonight. He began the season in extended spring training and made three relief appearances with the Dragons after joining the club on May 25. In his last start on Thursday at Peoria, Bowen pitched well but was charged with the loss (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO). He has allowed two runs or less in six of his seven starts. Bowen was selected by the Reds in the 43rd round of the 2009 draft out of Mississippi State University. He played at Mississippi State University. After signing with the Reds last summer, Bowen logged just 14.1 innings, going 0-2, 6.28 with Billings (Pioneer League). Bowen went 2-3, 8.44 at MSU as a junior in the spring of 2009. Bowen, 22, is a native of Jasper, Alabama.

Individual Notes

* Mark Fleury is batting .383 over his last 14 games (18 for 47). Fleury is second in the Midwest League in slugging percentage in the second half at .696. He leads the Dragons in second half batting at .339 and he is batting .385 in July.

* Henry Rodriguez has hit safely in 26 of his last 29 games. He is tied for seventh in the Midwest League in RBI with 55, sixth in extra base hits with 39, tied for fourth in doubles with 28, and tied for fifth in hits with 104. He is batting .329 over his last 40 games with 15 doubles and four home runs. He is hitting .326 in the second half.

* Didi Gregorius is batting .314 over his last 12 games. Over the full season, he is batting .328 with men on base.

* 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).

Team Notes

* The Dragons are 7-7 over their last 14 games. In the seven wins, the bullpen has posted a 1.61 ERA (28 IP, 5 R, 5 ER) with three saves. In the seven losses, the bullpen has posted a 6.75 ERA (26.2 IP, 21 R, 20 ER) with two blown saves. Over the first 23 games of the second half, the Dragons bullpen has been charged with six blown saves (all six by that game's closer).

* The Dragons snapped a seven-game losing streak with Sunday's win. Six of the seven losses came by two runs or less.

* Dayton went 1-4 on its five-game road trip. They hit just .224 as a team on the trip, but averaged 5.8 runs per game. In the first series of the trip, they were swept at Peoria despite games in which they scored nine runs, eight runs, and a game in which they held Peoria to three runs.

* Dayton opponents have scored at least 10 runs in three of the last five games. They have scored three and two runs in the other 2 G.

* The Dragons have played seven three-game sets in the second half and six have ended in sweeps (two series wins, four series losses). Fifteen of the 30 sets the Dragons have played this season have ended in sweeps (six series wins, nine series losses).

* Seven of the 15 Dragons losses in the second half have come by one run and five have come by two runs. The Dragons have held the lead in the eighth or ninth inning in four of their 15 second half losses and were tied in the ninth inning in two other losses. Four times in the second half, the Dragons have held the lead with two outs in the final inning but lost the game.

* The Dragons bullpen has notched 21 saves this season but suffered 21 blown saves. The 21 blown saves lead the league.

* Dayton is 8-28 this season in games when they have committed more errors than their opponent.

* The Dragons have played 11 extra inning games. They are 4-0 at home; 0-7 on the road.

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

Road Trip: 1-4 .224 Batting Average 7.34 Earned Run Average 9 Errors in 5 Games

Last Home Stand: 0-3 .167 Batting Average 4.00 Earned Run Average 3 Errors in 3 Games

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time)

Thursday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton TBA vs. Cedar Rapids RH Garrett Richards (7-4, 3.61)

Friday (7:00 p.m.): Dayton TBA vs. Cedar Rapids LH Tyler Skaggs (7-4, 3.84)

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from July 21, 2010


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