MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons Gameday June 26th

Published on June 26, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Lansing Lugnuts (affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays) in the second game of the second half and game two of a four game series. Season Series: Dayton 5, Lansing 4.

Last Game: In the first game of the second half, Lansing came back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat Dayton 6-5. The Lugnuts took advantage of the Dragons poorest defensive game of the season. Dayton committed four errors leading to four runs in the game. The Dragons got off to a good start, collecting five hits and three runs in the top of the first inning. They finished with 12 hits. Mike Konstanty led the way with two hits and three runs batted in. Dave Sappelt, Carlos Mendez, and Kevyn Feiner also had two hits.

First Half Notes: The Dragons finished the first half with a 28-42 record (11th overall among 14 teams in the league). The 28 wins matched their total from the first half in 2008. The Dragons finished the first half ninth in team batting (.250); 11th in team pitching (4.50); second in team fielding; 11th in runs scored; seventh in home runs; and tied for eighth in stolen bases.

Today's Starting Pitcher: Lance Janke makes his 10th start and 15th appearance of the season for the Dragons tonight. Janke's last start was Sunday vs. West Michigan and he earned the victory while notching a seaon-high 10 strikeouts (6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO). He is 2-0, 3.00 in four June starts. 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

- Outfielder Andrew Means has hit safely in eight straight games, batting .367 with five stolen bases over those games.

- Outfielder Dave Sappelt has hit safely in seven straight games, batting .370.

- Catcher Kevin Coddington is batting .327 over his last 15 games.

- In seven games played with the Dragons since joining the club, first baseman Mike Konstanty is batting .346 with two homers and nine runs batted in. He is tied for third on the team in RBI in June despite not arriving until June 15.

- Third baseman Carlos Mendez is batting .444 over his last five games.

- Second baseman Kevyn Feiner is batting .429 over his last four games.

Team Notes

- The Dragons are 19-18 over their last 37 games. They are 27-31 over their last 58 games after starting the season 1-12.

- The Dragons are batting .296 as a team over the last nine games, averaging 5.8 runs/game. On the previous eight game road trip, they batted .194 as a team, averaging 2.1 runs/game.

- From Opening Night (April 9) through May 15, Dragons starting pitchers were a combined 4-14 with a 5.87 ERA. Since May 15th, Dragons starting pitchers are 13-11 with a 3.62 ERA.

- The Dragons have posted a 3.49 ERA as a team in their last 37 games.

- However, over the last 10 games, the Dragons have posted a team ERA of 6.55.

- After a string of 10 consecutive games in which Dragons starting pitchers allowed two runs or less, Dragons starters have allowed at least three runs in 10 of the last 11 games.

- The Dragons committed four errors last night after committing just 18 errors in their previous 25 games.

- Nineteen of the Dragons 36 road games this season have been one-run games. They are 5-14 in one-run games on the road.

- Seventeen of the Dragons' 43 losses have come by one run. The Dragons are 9-17 in one-run games overall.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from June 26, 2009


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