MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons GameDay

Published on April 29, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Game # 19

Pohlman Field l Beloit, WI l 7:30 p.m.

Radio: 1410 ESPN Radio WING-AM

Dayton Dragons (4-14) at Beloit Snappers (6-11)

RH Oscar Castro (0-1, 7.50) vs. RH Brad Tippett (1-0, 5.63)

Today's Game: The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Snappers (affiliate of the Minnesota Twins) in the first game of a three game series. 2008 Season Series: Dayton 5, Beloit 1. Dayton won two of three games in Beloit.

Last Game: Dayton split a doubleheader in South Bend last night, losing game one 8-0 and winning the nightcap 6-3. In game two, Dave Sappelt and Cody Puckett each hit solo home runs and Kevin Coddington had two hits and an RBI. Starting pitcher Curtis Partch worked five innings for the win, allowing four hits and three runs with no walks and three strikeouts. Aguido Gonzalez earned the save with a scoreless seventh. Eight different Dragons had at least one hit.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Oscar Castro makes his fourth Midwest League appearance and third start tonight. In his last appearance Thursday vs. Great Lakes, Castro did not receive a decision in a game the Dragons won 7-5 to snap their 11-game losing skid. Castro's line: (5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO). Castro is a 20-year-old native of Mexico and the youngest player on the Dayton roster. He was signed as a free agent by the Reds in December of 2005 at the age of 16. Castro spent the 2008 season at Billings, going 4-2, 4.14 in 13 starts. He walked only 18 batters in 67 innings.

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

- Cody Puckett has hit three home runs in his last six games and is tied for the league lead with four.

- Kevin Coddington is 12 for 28, .429 over his last eight games.

- Byron Wiley is 11 for 28, .393 over his last nine games.

- Frank Pfister is 6 for 18, .333 over his last five games.

- Carlos Mendez is 5 for 14, .357 in the four games he has played since joining the club on Friday.

Honors: Dayton starting pitcher Matt Fairel has been named MWL Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 20-26. Fairel went 1-0 with a 1.38 earned run average (13 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 20 SO). On April 21st, Fairel came within two strikeouts of the Dragons club record when he struck out 12 Great Lakes batters over a six-inning performance. Fairel followed that outing with his first professional victory on Sunday, April 26th at South Bend when he allowed only one run in seven innings, striking out eight and walking one while giving up five hits.

Team Notes

- A Dragons win in tonight would give the club wins in consecutive games for the first time this season. Dayton has won three of their last five after starting the season at 1-12.

- The Dragons are 2-2 on the current 10-game road trip. They split a four-game set in South Bend.

- The Dragons have scored at least six runs in three of their last five games and four of their last eight. However, they have been shutout twice in the last six games.

- The Dragons have hit five home runs in their last six games after hitting two in their first 12 games.

- The Dragons are batting .257 as a team over their last 10 games after batting .222 over their first eight games.

- Dragons starting pitchers are a combined 3-9, 6.29. The #1 and #2 starters (Fairel, Ravin) and spot starter Lance Janke have a combined ERA of 3.35 as starters. The 3, 4, and 5 starters in the rotation are a combined 1-7, 9.88. They have allowed 46 runs in 37.1 innings.

- Six of the Dragons' 14 losses have come by one run. However, six losses have come by at least six runs including three losses by at least 10 runs.

- The Dragons have led by at least two runs in six of their 14 losses.

- The Dragons current roster includes seven players who have previously played for the club. They are pitchers Curtis Partch, Andrew Bowman, Aguido Gonzalez, Josh Ravin, and Mace Thurman; infielder Humberto Sosa, and outfielder Brandon Menchaca.

- The Dragons roster includes 19 players who played last season with the Billings Mustangs, the Reds Rookie-level affiliate. The Billings team posted a record of 42-32 and won both the first half and second half North Division titles in the Pioneer League.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time)

Thursday (7:30 p.m.): Dayton RH Leonardo Astorga (0-3, 18.90) at Beloit RH Michael Allen (0-3, 9.64)

Friday (7:30 p.m.): Dayton TBA at Beloit RH Shooter Hunt (0-1, 10.80)

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from April 29, 2009


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