MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday July 30th

Published on July 30, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Peoria Chiefs (affiliate of the Chicago Cubs) in the finale of a three-game series. This is game three of a 10-game home stand for Dayton.

Season Series: Peoria 5, Dayton 0 (first three games in Peoria)

Dayton on the Current Home Stand: 0-2 (Team Batting Average: .265; Team ERA: 8.00).

Last Game: Peoria scored 10 runs in the top of the ninth inning to come back from a 7-3 deficit on the way to a 13-7 win. The Chiefs have won the first two games of the series despite trailing entering the ninth in both games. Dayton took a 6-0 lead in the first inning, keyed by a three-run double by Humberto Sosa. Dayton reliever Chase Ware made his Midwest League debut, tossing two scoreless innings and retiring six of the seven batters he faced.

Today's Starting Pitcher: Lance Janke makes his 16th start and 21st appearance of the season for the Dragons tonight. Janke's last start was last Friday at Wisconsin when he was not involved in the decision (5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO). Janke had an excellent month of June, going 3-0, 2.79 in five starts, but he is just 1-2, 5.53 in five starts in July. Janke has not pitched against Peoria this season. Janke spent 13 days on the disabled list with a sprained ankle from May 3-15. Janke was a 14th round draft pick in 2008 by the Reds out of San Diego Christian College. He is a 22-year-old native of Santee, California. Janke was a starting pitcher last season at Billings, going 3-2, 5.60 in 11 games.

Skipper: Todd Benzinger makes his professional baseball managerial debut in 2009. Benzinger enjoyed a nine-year major league playing career from 1987-1995 with the Reds, Red Sox, Royals, Dodgers, and Giants. Todd is a former first baseman who recorded the final putout of the 1990 World Series with the Reds to complete their four-game sweep of the Oakland A's. Benzinger is a native of the Cincinnati area and currently resides in West Chester, Ohio. He has enjoyed a highly-successful career coaching girls' high school basketball since 1999.

Individual Notes

- Miguel Rojas is batting .423 in his last 21 games (30 for 71) and is hitting .366 in the second half.

- Byron Wiley is batting .349 with 12 doubles, two triples, nine HR, and 38 RBI in his last 34 games since June 14, posting a slugging percentage of .683 and raising his batting average from .211 to .276. Wiley is batting .352 in the second half. Wiley also has an 11 game hitting streak.

- Carlos Mendez has hit in 12 straight games, going 20 for 52, .385.

- Kevin Coddington is batting .333 over his last 42 games.

Team Notes

- Peoria has come from behind to win in the 9th inning on each of the last two nights. Of the more than 700 games played in the league this season, a team has won despite trailing entering the ninth inning only 17 times. Five teams have not lost a game this season in which they led going to the 9th. In approximately 2.4 percent of all games in the league in 2009 has a team come back to win after trailing entering the 9th.

- The Dragons are 7-4 over their last 11 games but they have lost three straight. In all three losses, the Dragons were tied or leading in the ninth inning.

- The Dragons have lost 30 games this season in which they held a lead during the game. They have come from behind to win 14 games.

- After 32 of 70 games in the second half, the Dragons are two games behind Great Lakes for the second (final) seed in the 2nd half playoff race.

- The Dragons are 11-16 in July with a team batting average of .274 and a team ERA of 5.21.

Team Batting Notes

- The Dragons are batting .279 in the second half (32 games) after batting .250 in the first half (70 games).

- During the Dragons 7-4 stretch, they are batting .291 as a team and averaging 5.5 runs per game.

Team Pitching Notes

- During the Dragons 7-4 stretch, the team ERA is 3.61. 25 percent of the total runs allowed during the 11 games came in the ninth inning last night.

- Dayton relief pitchers had allowed only three earned runs in their last 32.2 innings prior to allowing 10 earned runs in the 9th last night.

- Over the last 11 games, Dayton starting pitchers have posted a 3.39 ERA. They have not allowed more than three earned runs in any start.

- The Dragons second half team ERA is 4.76. The first half ERA was 4.50.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from July 30, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central