Dragons Fall on Walk-Off Homer in 9th at Lansing
Lansing 7, Dragons 3 Click here for the box score Lansing, Mich.—Lansing’s Tyler Soderstrom connected on a walk-off grand slam home run to break a 3-3 tie with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Lugnuts to a 7-3 victory over the Dayton Dragons on
Lansing 7, Dragons 3
Click here for the box score
Lansing, Mich.—Lansing’s Tyler Soderstrom connected on a walk-off grand slam home run to break a 3-3 tie with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Lugnuts to a 7-3 victory over the Dayton Dragons on Thursday night.
The Lugnuts have won two of three so far in the six-game series that will continue through Sunday. The Dragons fell to 20-9 on the season, but held their lead of three and one-half games over second place Great Lakes, who saw their seven-game winning streak snapped on Thursday.
Lansing overcame another home run by Dayton’s Alex McGarry, his 10th of the season. McGarry reached double-figures in home runs quicker than any Dayton hitter since at least 2004.
Eight of the 10 runs in the game came on home runs.
*Game Recap: *The Dragons trailed 2-0 before taking the lead in the top of the sixth inning as Elly De La Cruz blasted a 433-foot home run to get the Dragons scoring started. The homer was De La Cruz’s fourth of the season. Following the home run, Nick Quintana walked, and Alex McGarry launched a home run to right field, his league-leading 10th of the year. McGarry’s home run gave Dayton a 3-2 lead.
Lansing tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out run-scoring single by Brett Harris, who has proven to be a tough out for Dragons pitchers over the last two night nights. Harris has gone 6 for 7 with three home runs in the games Wednesday and Thursday.
In the bottom of the ninth, Lansing loaded the bases with one out before Tyler Soderstrom, the first round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2020, delivered a grand slam homer to right to end the game.
The Dragons collected just five hits. McGarry was 2 for 3 while Jose Torres was 2 for 4.
The loss was charged to Dragons reliever Jake Gilbert (1-1), who pitched a scoreless eighth inning before surrendering Soderstrom’s home run with one out in the ninth.
Notes: McGarry, with his 10th homer on May 12, surpassed former Dragon Brandon Waring with the quickest climb to 10 home runs since daily results became available in 2005. Waring hit his 10th home run on May 21 during the 2008 season. Jay Bruce and Juan Francisco are the only other Dragons to reach 10 home runs prior to the end of May since 2005…The Dayton loss marked the first time in 2022 that the Dragons have fallen in a game in which they held a lead at any point in the contest. The Dragons were the only team in Minor League Baseball that had not surrendered an opponent’s comeback win before Thursday’s loss.
Up Next: The Dragons play at Lansing again on Friday at 7:05 p.m. in the fourth game of the six-game series. Connor Phillips (1-2, 4.13) will start for Dayton.
The Dragons return to Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District to host Quad Cities beginning Tuesday, May 17 at 7:05 p.m. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com or call (937) 228-2287.
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.