Dragons Fall to QC in Road Trip Opener, 9-3

Davenport, Iowa-The Quad Cities River Bandits built a 9-0 lead over the first five innings and went on to defeat the Dayton Dragons 9-3 on Wednesday night in the first game of a three-game series. The game was the start to a six-game West Division road trip for the Dragons. 

The River Bandits scored three runs in the first inning, two more in the second, and then took command with four runs in the fifth. The Dragons avoided the shutout with two runs in the eighth and added one more in the ninth to close out the scoring.
The Dragons remained two games out of the wildcard slot in the East Division. All three teams ahead of them in the second half race, Bowling Green, Lansing, and South Bend, lost on Wednesday as well.
Dragons starting pitcher Jhon De Jesus was charged with the loss and fell to 2-9. He worked four innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
Moises Nova replaced De Jesus in the fifth and struck out the first two batters he faced before giving up a base hit to the next hitter. With the River Bandits leading 8-0 in the fifth, Jonathan Lacroix stole second base. Nova hit Quad Cities Carlos Machado with his next pitch and was immediately ejected by the plate umpire. The ejection also carries an automatic suspension.
Eddie Demurias replaced Nova and worked three and one-third scoreless innings, allowing two hits with one walk and one strikeout. 
Dayton's Claudio Finol delivered a two-run double in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to seven straight games. The Dragons loaded the bases in the ninth before Mariel Bautista drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. With one out and the bases loaded, trailing 9-3, the Dragons were only two batters away from getting the tying run to the plate, but Finol struck out and Randy Ventura grounded out to first base to end the game.
The Dragons finished with seven hits. Michael Siani was 2 for 4 with a walk. Over his last five games, Siani is 10 for 21, batting .476.
Up Next:  The Dragons (11-14, 38-56) will battle Quad Cities (15-9, 58-32) again on Thursday in Davenport, Iowa at 7:35 p.m. (EDT). Lyon Richardson (2-7, 4.41) will start for the Dragons against Brett Daniels (4-4, 1.59) of Quad Cities.
The next home game is Wednesday, July 24 against the Great Lakes Loons at 7:00 p.m. at Fifth Third Field.
On the Air:  All Dragons home and road games are broadcast on radio on Fox Sports 980 WONE AM. 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. All Saturday and Sunday home games are televised on Dayton's CW (channel 26; Spectrum cable channels 13 and 1013). 
For Dragons 2019 ticket information, call (937) 228-2287.
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