MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons GameDay

June 10, 2009 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Wednesday, June 10, 2009 nGame # 59

Parkview Field Fort Wayne, Ind. 7:05 p.m.

Radio: WING 1410 AM "ESPN Radio"

Dayton Dragons (24-34) at Fort Wayne TinCaps (36-22)

RH Curtis Partch (4-3, 5.02) vs. LH Nick Schmidt (2-0, 3.89)

Today's Game: The Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the TinCaps (affiliate of the San Diego Padres) in game one of a four game series.

Season Series: Fort Wayne 7, Dayton 0 (all games in Fort Wayne).

Dayton on the Current Road Trip: 2-2

Last Game: The Dragons split a doubleheader on Tuesday night in Great Lakes, losing game one 1-0 and winning the night cap 3-2. Both scheduled seven-inning games went eight innings. In the second game, Dayton's Kyle Day hit a solo home run leading off the top of the eighth inning that came out of the glove of Loons' right fielder Kyle Russell when he crashed into the right field fence. Carlos Mendez and Dave Sappelt each had run-scoring singles for Dayton.

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Curtis Partch makes his 11th start of the season for the Dragons tonight. He has won his last three starts with the Dragons and last four starts overall (including a win in a start with Double-A Carolina). In his most recent start on Friday vs. South Bend, Partch enjoyed one of his best performances of the year (6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO). He has made two starts this season vs. Fort Wayne without a decision (9.1 IP, 9 R, 6 ER). Partch returns to the Dragons after going 5-11, 5.00 with the club in 2008 when he spent the entire season and post-season on the Dayton active roster. Partch is a native of Merced, California and played at Merced Junior College. He was drafted by the Reds in the 26th round in 2007. Partch finished strong in 2008, posting a 2.78 ERA over his final 10 games (four starts) over the last six weeks of the season. Partch was the Reds Pitcher of the Year in their 2008 Florida Instructional League program.

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 Dave Sappelt is batting .315 over his last 22 games. He has raised his batting average from .252 to .276.

- Infielder Carlos Mendez is batting .333 with 14 RBI over his last 13 games.

- Starting pitcher Matt Fairel has not allowed a run over his last three starts covering 18 innings.

- Outfielder/first baseman Stephen Chapman is hitting .364 over his last seven games.

- Shortstop Miguel Rojas has hit in four straight games, batting .417.

- Catcher Kevin Coddington is batting .357 over has last five games.

Team Notes

- The Dragons are 15-9 over their last 24 games. They are 23-22 over their last 45 games after starting the season 1-12.

- 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 10-5 with a 2.56 ERA.

- The Dragons have posted a 2.66 ERA as a team in their last 24 games.

- The Dragons 2.33 ERA for the month of June leads the Midwest League.

- The Dragons have committed just seven errors in their last 13 games. The Dragons rank second in the league in team fielding. Second baseman Cody Puckett and shortstop Miguel Rojas both lead the league in fielding percentage at their positions.

- Dragons starting pitchers have allowed two runs or less in each of the last eight games.

- Dragons opponents have scored four runs or less in each of the last eight games and three or less in seven of the eight.

- Twelve of the Dragons' 34 losses have come by one run. The Dragons are 7-12 in one-run games.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are Dayton time)

Thursday (7:05 p.m.): Dayton RH Lance Janke (1-3, 3.53) at Fort Wayne RH Erik Davis (5-1, 3.03)

Friday (7:05 p.m.): Dayton RH J.C. Sulbaran (2-0, 3.16) at Fort Wayne LH Mike Watt (2-1, 4.62)

Saturday(7:05 p.m.) Dayton LH Matt Fairel (4-2, 2.20) at Fort Wayne RH Anthony Bass (3-3, 2.24)

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from June 10, 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