Hoglund unhittable, Nuts win 3-2 for third straight day

DAYTON, OH – In his High-A debut, Gunnar Hoglund was nearly perfect through five innings, and the Lansing Lugnuts (24-29) brought a no-hitter into the eighth inning before settling for a third consecutive 3-2 win over the Dayton Dragons (27-26, 60-59) on Saturday night at Day Air Ballpark.

Hoglund, selected 19th overall in 2021 by Toronto and traded to Oakland in March 2022 as the centerpiece of a four-player package for Matt Chapman, needed only 64 pitches, 43 strikes, to hold the Dragons hitless, walkless and scoreless through five innings, striking out seven along the way. Only a two-out HBP of Trey Faltine in the bottom of the third inning kept his Midwest League debut from being perfect.

A Brennan Milone RBI double in the fourth off Dayton starter Chase Petty and a Junior Pérez two-run homer in the seventh off Brooks Crawford built a 3-0 lead for the Lugnuts.

Yehizon Sanchez had allowed five runs in three innings-plus in his own Lugnuts debut, but the slender right-hander was perfect through 2 1/3 innings in relief of Hoglund – until Jack Rogers broke up the no-hit bid with a line drive single to right field with one out in the bottom of the eighth.

Cade Hunter, Hector Rodriguez and Faltine followed with consecutive hits of their own, including a single by Rodriguez that brought in Rogers and a double by Faltine off the right field wall that broke an 0-for-27 slump. But Rodriguez was late to recognize that Faltine drive had fallen to the ground. While Hunter scored to bring Dayton within one run, Rodriguez was thrown out at the plate to deny the tie. Sanchez then retired Edwin Arroyo on a groundout to first, ending the eighth.

The Dragons also made the ninth inning interesting, thanks to a leadoff walk drawn by Carlos Jorge and a two-out pinch-hit single from Mat Nelson. But Sanchez coaxed a pop-out to shortstop from Rodriguez to end the game. In the end, the right-hander allowed five hits and one walk in four innings, striking out five, for his first save.

The Lugnuts’ three consecutive wins over the Dragons by an identical score – in this case, 3-2 on Thursday, 3-2 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday – does have precedent in the all-time series. From August 6-8, 2018, Lansing defeated Dayton by identical 5-4 results, ending the streak with a 4-3 win on August 9, 2018.

Lansing looks for a fourth straight victory in the Gem City on Sunday at 1:05 p.m., sending right-hander Mitch Myers to the mound against Dayton right-hander Carson Rudd.

The Nuts return to Michigan’s state capital for their final homestand of the year from August 29 through September 3 against the West Michigan Whitecaps. Tickets are available at the box office, via lansinglugnuts.com or by calling (517) 485-4500.

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