Dragons Top Loons 4-1, Earn 40th Win of the 2nd Half Season

Dragons 4, Great Lakes 1

Click here for the box score

Dayton (R-H-E): 4-7-2; Great Lakes (R-H-E): 1-4-0

Win: Simon Miller (3-2); Loss: Kelvin Ramirez (3-8); Save: John Murphy (8)

HR: Dayton: None HR: Great Lakes: None

Midland, Mich.—Four Dayton pitchers combined to allow just four hits and Ethan O’Donnell drove in the tie-breaking run with a bunt single in the eighth inning as the Dragons defeated the Great Lakes Loons 4-1 on Friday night. The Dragons and Loons have split the first four games of the series with two games remaining in the regular season. The Dragons will open the Midwest League playoffs on Tuesday.

The win improved the Dragons record to 40-24 in the second half, giving them their first 40-win half since they went 41-29 in the first half in 2017 when half seasons consisted of 70 games, four more than they have since 2022.

Game Summary:

Great Lakes scored what turned out to be their only run of the night in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. The Dragons tied the game in the second when Leo Balcazar singled hard to right field, went to second when Cam Collier walked, and scored on Carter Graham’s single to right to even the score at 1-1.

Dayton pitcher Nestor Lorant, making his first start with the Dragons since being called up from Daytona, did not allow a hit over his three-inning stint, but did allow the first inning run while walking two and striking out four. Dylan Simmons replaced Lorant and fired three scoreless innings. Simon Miller replaced Simmons in the seventh.

The Dragons broke the 1-1 tie in the eighth inning. Hector Rodriguez, who had reached first base on a fielder’s choice, stole second with two outs and advanced to third on an infield single by Jay Allen II. Ethan O’Donnell then delivered a perfect bunt single to the left side, scoring Rodriguez to give the Dragons a 2-1 lead. Allen scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1, and O’Donnell scored on Balcazar’s single to center to make it 4-1.

Miller (3-2) completed his two-inning performance with a scoreless bottom of the eighth for the Dragons, and John Murphy pitched a perfect ninth inning, getting two strikeouts, to earn his eighth save.

The Dragons had seven hits. Balcazar had two hits as the only Dayton player with a multi-hit night.

Notes: Four different Dragons players stole a base in the same inning in the eighth as Johnny Ascanio, Rodriguez, Allen, and O’Donnell all picked up a steal in the frame.

Up Next: The Dragons (40-24, 74-56) battle the Loons (33-29, 67-61) in Midland again on Saturday at 7:05 pm. Mason Pelio (0-3, 8.87) will start for Dayton against Jose Rodriguez (2-4, 2.52).

How to Watch or Listen: All home and road Dragons playoff games will be available free of charge on the Bally Live app (look for Bally Live Ohio) or on the internet at Ballylive.com (in the Channel Guide, click on Bally Live Ohio or the MiLB Zone). Games in Dayton will be Dragons productions, while games on the road will be produced by the opposing team. Dragons radio broadcasts of all home and road games will also be available on FOX Sports 980 WONE (980 AM), at daytondragons.com, and via the Dragons Mobile App.

Playoffs: The Dragons will host game one of the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday, September 10 at 7:05 pm against the Lake County Captains. For ticket information, call (937) 228-2287 or go to this direct link: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/160060F7E1966F50?fbclid=IwY2xjawE8BqpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHX1ZpGxSXqmDnmxi5-XzI5QDsWrCCdv8_7ronQ8BTDtogFePjEaSbNy9kw_aem_EKqvmHJjqcmmwW3hLZSKsg