Dragons GameDay

Friday, August 22, 2014; Game # 128 (60)

Fifth Third Ballpark; Comstock Park, Mich.; 7:10 p.m.

Radio: WONE-AM 980

 

Dayton Dragons (28-31, 64-63) at West Michigan Whitecaps (35-24, 75-53)

RH Nick Howard (1-1, 5.30) vs. LH Kevin Ziomek (10-6, 2.27)

Click here to view the entire Dragons Press Box Notes packet.

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the West Michigan Whitecaps (affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) in the second game of a three-game series. Season Series: West Michigan 11, Dayton 4 (at West Michigan: Whitecaps 4, Dragons 0).

The Race: With 11 games to play, the Dragons are tied with Great Lakes in the race for the East Division Second Half wildcard slot (#2 seed). The Dragons lead Bowling Green and Fort Wayne by two games and lead and Lansing by three games. 

Today's Dragons Starting Pitcher: Nick Howard makes his third professional career start tonight after six appearances out of the Dayton bullpen. He was the Reds #1 draft pick in 2014 (19th overall selection) after serving as the closer this spring at the University of Virginia, where he broke the all-time Atlantic Coast Conference single-season saves record with 20 and helped his team to the final game of College World Series and a #2 final national ranking. 

Individual Notes

• Phillip Ervin is batting .333 over his last 13 games to raise his average from .226 to .237. Ervin is hitting only .249 in the second half, but 25 of his 53 second half hits are for extra bases. Ervin is tied for third in the MWL in second half extra base hits.
• Jose Ortiz is batting .357 over his last eight games with two home runs and seven RBI to raise his average from .176 to .229.
• Alex Blandino is batting .322 with nine RBI over his last 16 games to raise his average from .233 to .292.
• Ronald Bueno is batting .356 over his last 13 games to raise his average from .208 to .252.
• Nick Travieso over his last seven starts: 5-0, 39.2 IP, 10 R, 6 ER, 1.36 ERA. He has also broken the club record in career victories with 19.
• Alejandro Chacin in July-August: 19 G: 22.1 IP, 4 R, 34 SO, 1.61 ERA, 13 Sv. 3 of the 4 runs came in 1 inning 8/19 (first runs since 7/16). Chacin is second in all of Minor League Baseball in saves since July 1 with 13.

Team Notes

• The Dragons have lost their last eight meetings with West Michigan. Their last win vs. the Whitecaps came on May 24.
• The Dragons have not committed an error in the four games on the road trip. This is the first time this season that the Dragons have gone four straight games without an error.
• The Dragons current team ERA of 3.61 would rank third best in club history over a full season.
• The Dragons are hitting .264 as a team over the last 10 games (96 for 364). They are hitting .246 on the year (third lowest in club history).
• Since July 1, the Dragons have had winning streaks of six (twice) and four games. They have had losing streaks of five and four games.
• The Dragons led the division or the wildcard race for all but one day from April 10-May 27, but finished in third place in the first half.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (All game times are EDT) (All games on WONE 980 AM and WONE.com)

Saturday, August 23 (7:10 p.m.): Dayton LH Amir Garrett (7-7, 3.60) at West Michigan RH Artie Lewicki (2-2, 3.05)

Sunday, August 24 (4:00 p.m.): Great Lakes TBA at Dayton RH Sal Romano (7-10, 4.08)

Monday, August 25 (7:00 p.m.): Great Lakes TBA at Dayton RH Nick Travieso (12-5, 3.24)

Tuesday, August 26 (7:00 p.m.): Great Lakes TBA at Dayton RH Jackson Stephens (2-5, 4.21)