Sanchez Blasts 2 Homers, Lorant Fires 7 Scoreless Frames to Lead Dragons to 8-0 Win
MWL Dayton Dragons

Sanchez Blasts 2 Homers, Lorant Fires 7 Scoreless Frames to Lead Dragons to 8-0 Win

Published on May 8, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Grand Rapids, Mich. - Dayton's Carlos Sanchez blasted two home runs and Nestor Lorant fired seven shutout innings as the Dragons defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps 8-0 on Friday night. The win was the fourth straight in the series for the Dragons. They are 7-4 so far on their 13-game road trip.

The Dragons connected on a season-high four home runs in the game while Lorant became the first Dayton pitcher to go seven innings since May of 2025.

Game Recap: The Dragons collected the runs they would need to win the game in the very first inning. Sanchez ripped a single to center field to start the game and eventually scored on an infield hit by Yerlin Confidan to put the Dragons in front. Alfredo Alcantara followed Confidan's hit with a run-scoring single to center to make it 2-0.

In the fourth inning, Dayton's Ariel Almonte blasted a 411-foot home run to right field, with an exit velocity of 115.3 mph, making it one of the hardest-hit balls of the year for the Dragons. Almonte has hit home runs in three straight games, matching the longest home run streak for a Dayton player over the last 20 seasons. After Almonte's homer, Carlos Sanchez connected on his first homer of the year, an opposite field blast that gave the Dragons a 4-0 lead. It was the second inning with back-to-back home runs over the last five games for the Dragons.

Meanwhile, Dayton starting pitcher Nestor Lorant was brilliant. He retired nine straight hitters over one stretch, and later had a streak of seven straight outs. Lorant allowed only three runners past first base over seven scoreless innings to earn the win. He became the first Dayton pitcher to go seven innings since Brian Edgington on May 16, 2025. Over his seven innings, Lorant allowed just two hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. He lowered his earned run average to 2.05 and extended his scoreless streak to 19.2 innings.

In the top of the seventh inning, Sanchez led off with a home run to right-center field, becoming the first Dayton player to belt two home runs in the same game since Connor Burns on May 16, 2025, the same night when a Dragons pitcher last went seven innings. Prior to Friday night's game, Sanchez had not hit a home run all season and had gone 1 for 14 in the series with West Michigan.

Later in the same inning, Victor Acosta connected on a three-run home run for Dayton, his first with the team in 2026 in just his fourth game. Acosta's home run gave the Dragons an 8-0 lead and closed out the scoring.

Jimmy Romano followed Lorant and pitched a scoreless eighth inning before Drew Pestka tossed a scoreless ninth. It was the Dragons fourth shutout win of the season and their largest winning margin of the year.

The Dragons finished with 10 hits. Sanchez led the way with three hits including the two homers. Alfredo Duno had two of the hardest hit balls of the series, a double and single.

Notes: The Dragons have hit seven home runs over their last two games and 12 in their last five games...West Michigan's loss was their 12th in a row, tying the Whitecaps club record.

Up Next: The Dragons (17-14) continue their 13-game road trip with the fifth game of the six-game series at West Michigan against the Whitecaps (12-18) on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 pm. Reynardo Cruz (0-1, 6.87) will start for the Dragons.

The next Dragons game at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District is Tuesday, May 12 against the Lake County Captains at 7:05 pm. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

On the Air: All Dragons home and road games are broadcast on radio on FOX Sports 980 AM WONE. Games can be heard on smart phones, iPads, and other mobile devices via the free Dragons Mobile App, or on a computer at wone.com. Games are also available on HD Radio on 104.7 WTUI HD 2.

Check out the Dayton Dragons Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Midwest League Stories from May 8, 2026


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