Dragons Lose 4-Run Lead, Fall to West Michigan on Saturday

West Michigan 8, Dragons 4

Click here for the box score

West Michigan (R-H-E): 8-8-1; Dayton (R-H-E): 4-5-1

Win: Cleiverth Perez (5-0); Loss: Arij Fransen (1-2); Save: None

HR: Dayton: None HR: West Michigan: None

Grand Rapids, Mich.—The West Michigan Whitecaps battled back from a 4-0 deficit to score eight unanswered runs on the way to defeating the Dayton Dragons 8-4 on Saturday night. The Whitecaps have won the first two games over the Dragons to start the Second Half season. The series will conclude on Sunday at 2:00 pm.

The start of the game was delayed 57 minutes by rain.

Game Summary:

The Dragons jumped out to a 4-0 lead when they bunched together four hits and scored four runs in the fourth inning. Sal Stewart lined a double to the left field fence to start the inning and Hector Rodriguez walked. Cam Collier grounded to first base into a fielder’s choice, but Stewart scored on an error on the play as the Dragons took a 1-0 lead. Leo Balcazar reached on an infield single, and Cade Hunter followed with a line drive double to left field to bring in two runs and make it 3-0. Logan Tanner drove in Hunter with a single through the right side of the infield to make it 4-0.

But West Michigan responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth as they tied the game on a wild pitch. The Whitecaps took the lead with three runs in the fifth and added one more in the sixth to close out the scoring.

The Dragons picked up only one hit after the fourth inning, a lead-off double by Carlos Jorge in the eighth, but he was eventually stranded at third.

Dragons reliever Arij Fransen (1-2) was charged with the loss. He entered the game in the fourth inning with two outs and the Dragons leading 4-3, but surrendered four runs in two innings of work, allowing six hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

Reliever Simon Miller made his High-A debut after being called up from Daytona. He worked two and one-third scoreless innings, allowing just one base runner, a single, while striking out three.

Dragons starting pitcher T.J. Sikkema retired the first 10 batters of the game before running into trouble in the fourth inning. He hit two batters in the inning, issued one walk, and allowed a run-scoring single before being lifted from the game. A costly error in the inning resulted in all four runs against Sikkema being unearned.

Notes: The game marked just the second time this season that the Dragons have lost a contest after leading by at least four runs.

Up Next: The Dragons play at West Michigan in the last game of the six-game series on Sunday afternoon at 2:05 pm. Gabriel Aguilera (1-0, 0.00) will pitch for the Dragons against West Michigan’s Jackson Jobe (0-1, 9.00).

The next Dragons home game is Monday, July 1 at 7:05 pm against the Lake County Captains at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

Scheduling Note: Please note the special scheduling on the next homestand at Day Air Ballpark beginning Monday, July 1:

1. There will be a game on Monday, which is normally an off-day (July 1). The series includes games Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (July 1-3).
2. The Wednesday, July 3 game (final game of the homestand) will start at the special start time of 5:35 p.m. The other games start at 7:05 pm.

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.