Dragons Press Box Notes for June 19

Dragons GameDay

Sunday, June 19, 2016 l Game # 70

Dow Diamond l Midland, Mich. l 2:05 p.m.

Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE

                                                                  

Dayton Dragons (20-49) at Great Lakes Loons (29-40)

RH Jose Lopez (4-6, 3.89) vs. RH Dennis Santana (1-8, 3.12)

                                                                                               

Click here for the complete Press Box Notes packet for today.

 

Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Great Lakes Loons (affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) in the last game of a four-game series. This is the final game of the first half.  Current Series: Dayton 2, Great Lakes 1. 

Historically Speaking: The Dragons will finish with the second lowest winning percentage in the first half in the Midwest League since the league went to a 140-game format in 1977. The 1995 Clinton team went 17-51 (.250) in the first half to post the worst first half record in MWL history. The Dragons current winning percentage of .290 would rank as the fourth lowest winning percentage in either half since the scheduling format began in 1977. In addition to the 1995 Clinton team, the 1998 South Bend team went 19-49 (.279) in the second half and the 2015 Clinton team went 20-50 (.286) in the second half. The 2004 Dragons and the 1989 Waterloo team both went 21-49 (.300) in the second half, a mark that the Dragons would match with a win today. The Dragons have broken the club record for most losses in the first half (previous: 27-43 in 2004). The club record for most losses in either half is 49 (21-49 in the second half in 2004). 

Individual Notes

• Shed Long is batting .381 over his last 11 games with three home runs and nine RBI. He has raised his average during this stretch from .251 to .275. He also has an active four-game hitting streak. Long is batting .364 with runners in scoring position on the year to lead the club. Long is tied for fourth in the MWL in doubles (20) and tied for third in extra base hits (29). 
• Brantley Bell is batting .347 over his last 19 games to raise his batting average from .185 to .246. 
• Kevin Franklin has hit safely in his first four games with the Dragons, batting .333. 
• James Vasquez is tied for third in the MWL in home runs with nine. 

Team Notes

• The Dragons have won three of their last four games and they are 6-5 over their last 11 games.
• The Dragons have allowed just 6 earned runs over their last four games, posting a team ERA of 1.54.
• The Dragons team ERA in June is a respectable 3.20. This is an improvement from 4.48 in April and 4.18 in May. 
• The Dragons had been shown signs of improvement offensively. They are batting .256 over the last 11 games (97-379) while batting .224 for the year. The league average for the year is .246. 

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com)

Second Half begins on Thursday, June 23 (7:00 p.m.): South Bend TBA at Dayton LH Ty Boyles (2-4, 5.86)