MWL1 Great Lakes Loons

Loons Shutout by Dragons for 2nd Night in a Row

May 6, 2014 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Great Lakes Loons News Release


MIDLAND, Mich. - The Dayton Dragons pitching staff continues to mystify the Great Lakes Loons offense.

For the second night in a row, Dayton held the Loons scoreless and spoiled another solid Great Lakes pitching performance in a 1-0 victory Tuesday. The loss was the sixth in a row for the Loons, who fell to 15-17 on the season, including just 5-10 at Dow Diamond.

The first-place Dragons are now 5-0 against the Loons this season and have held them to a total of four runs. Tuesday starter Daniel Wright pitched his second strong game of the spring against the Loons, this time going 5.1 scoreless innings while striking out six and scatting five hits. He's now allowed just one earned run in 11.1 innings against Great Lakes.

The Loons, meanwhile, got great pitching for the second game in a row. Starter Jonathan Martinez (3-4) allowed one run in six innings while striking out five and walking none. Relievers Michael Johnson and Jacob Rhame combined to throw three scoreless, hitless innings; in fact, the last 19 Dragons were retired in order.

"Martinez, and all of our pitchers, did a great job," said Loons manager Bill Haselman. "But we're still not hitting the ball like we can. We're swinging the bats better, but the wind was howling out there and it just knocked some balls down.

"We're going to go through these stretches from time to time. The only thing we can do is keep our heads up, stay positive and keep working. We'll be fine."

The Loons are 4 1/2 games behind Dayton (19-12) in the Midwest League Eastern Division standings. The six-game losing streak is their longest this season.

Dayton scored the game's only run in the second inning. Joe Hudson doubled with one out, took third on a single by Julio Morillo, then scored when the No. 9 hitter, Carlton Daal, blooped a single just over the head of Loons second baseman Jesmuel Valentin.

The Loons put two runners on with two out in the third and fourth innings but Wright escaped each time. Jacob Scavuzzo led off the sixth inning with a single but was caught stealing, as was Joey Curletta after leading off the seventh with a single.

In the ninth, Kyle Farmer led off with a single off of Dragons reliever Alejandro Chacin, but Chacin retired the next three batters in order to end the threat.

Tomorrow is School Kids Day at Dow Diamond and first pitch is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. Right-hander Zachary Bird (1-4, 5.22 ERA) gets the start for the Loons while Sal Romano (3-1, 3.00 ERA) will start for Dayton. Bird suffered losses in his last two outings but they were two of his better outings all season as he allowed just two earned runs and six hits over 11 innings.

The Loons faced Romano on April 27 at Dow Diamond and the right-hander pitched five scoreless innings while striking out nine batters.

The Loons are an eighth-year Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. For tickets or more information about the team, call 989-837-BALL or visit loons.com.

Check out the Great Lakes Loons Statistics



Midwest League Stories from May 6, 2014


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