MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons GameDay

Published on May 6, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Today's Game:

The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) host the Lumber Kings (affiliate of the Seattle Mariners) in the second game of a three-game series and game two of a 10-game home stand for Dayton.

Season Series:

Clinton 1, Dayton 0.

Last Game:

Clinton battled back from a 5-4 deficit after seven innings to score one run in the eighth and two in the ninth for a 7-5 win. Scott Savastano's tie-breaking triple with one out in the top of the ninth was the big hit in the game. Dragons reliever Aguido Gonzalez (0-2) suffered the loss. Dayton finished with 11 hits. Cody Puckett (4 for 5) had the first four-hit game of the season for the Dragons. Miguel Rojas went 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher:

J.C. Sulbaran makes his second professional start tonight for Dayton. Sulbaran started Friday at Beloit and was not involved in the decision (4 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO). He had been in extended spring training in Sarasota due to a blister problem on his right (pitching) hand. Sulbaran has pitched in some big international games. He appeared in two games for Team Netherlands in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and started a game for the Netherlands in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing against Cuba. Sulbaran moved from the island of Curacao in the Caribbean to the Miami area with his family at age 16 to further baseball career. He was honored as the Miami-area pitcher of the year in 2008, going 11-0, 1.40. He fell to the 30th round of the 2008 draft due to his commitment to the University of Florida but the Reds eventually signed him with a $500,000 bonus, a record for that round. He was voted the best pitcher in the 2004 Latin American Youth Baseball Tournament while playing for the Netherlands Antilles. He was rated by Baseball America as the 20th best prospect in Reds organization prior to 2009 season. His high school teammates included first baseman Eric Hosner, who was selected with the third pick in the first round of the 2008 draft by the Kansas City Royals, and catcher Adrian Nieto, taken in the fifth round by the Washington Nationals.

Individual Notes

- Shortstop Miguel Rojas has hit in four straight games, going 5 for 12, .417, with a home run.

- Relief pitcher Jordan Hotchkiss has not allowed a run over eight innings in his last six games.

Team Notes

- Dayton has lost four straight games. They led in the last three of those losses and led as late as the seventh inning in the last two.

- In the four losses, in innings 6-9 (total of 16 innings), the Dragons have not scored and have collected just six hits (all singles).

- The Dragons have scored just 25 runs after the fifth inning this season (25 games). They have scored 63 runs in innings 1-5.

- In the last four Dragons wins, the opponent has combined to score a total of eight runs.

- Eight of the Dragons' 19 losses have come by one run. The Dragons are 2-8 in one-run games (10 one-run games are the most in the league). 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 eight of their 19 losses and have led at some point in 10 of the 19.

- The Dragons bullpen is 2-9 with three saves, six blown saves, and a 5.34 ERA on the year.

- The Dragons entered this series after playing 17 of their previous 21 games on the road. Prior to this series, they had played only seven games at home all season (all vs. Great Lakes).

- The Dragons next five games will be against West Division opponents. The Dragons went 30-16 vs. the West in 2008 and 16-7 vs. the West at Fifth Third Field.

- The three teams the Dragons will play on this home stand have a combined record of 49-24. All have winning percentages of at least .625.

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

- 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.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 6, 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.

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