Dragons Press Box Notes for May 26

Dragons GameDay
Saturday, May 26, 2018 l Game # 47
Bowling Green Ballpark l Bowling Green, Ky. l  7:35 p.m.
Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE
Dayton Dragons (25-21) at Bowling Green Hot Rods (29-18)
RH Adrian Rodriguez (2-0, 4.82) vs. RH Drew Strotman (3-0, 3.43)
 
Click here for today's complete Press Box Notes packet.
Today's Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Bowling Green Hot Rods (affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays) in the second game of a four-game series. Season Series to Date: Bowling Green 3, Dayton 2 (At Bowling Green: Hot Rods 2, Dragons 1).
Streaks: The Dragons have won seven of their last eight games after an eight-game losing streak which came on the heels of winning nine of 10.     
Standings: The Dragons are in fourth place, five games behind first place Lansing, and three and one-half games behind second place Bowling Green.
Last Game: Friday: Dayton 5, Bowling Green 4. Dayton starting pitcher Andrew Jordan allowed just one run over six innings and Cory Thompson recorded the final four outs to preserve a one-run lead as the Dragons won the first game of the series. Montrell Marshall had a two-run single and Stuart Fairchild hit a two-run home run as the Dragons built a 5-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Bowling Green scored two in the seventh and one in the eighth to close the deficit and had the tying run at third with two outs in the eighth when Thompson entered the game to earn the save. 

2018 Team Notes

• The Dragons have been the streakiest team in professional baseball in 2018. They started the year with a three-game losing streak, won the next nine games, lost the next eight, won nine of 10, lost the next eight, and have won seven of the last eight.
• The Dragons are batting .296 (75 for 253) in their last eight games. Their full season team batting average has risen to .253, fifth best in the league.
• The Dragons team ERA in their last eight games is 2.51 (68 IP, 19 ER). The team ERA for the year is 4.95.
• In an indication of the Dragons high number of close games, they lead the league in saves with 17 but also have eight blown saves. They are 13-9 in one-run games, with 24 of their 46 games decided by one run. Only one of the eight blown saves was in the ninth inning and they still won that game (vs. Lake County April 12-dropped popup with 2 outs in top of 9th with walk-off win). They are 20-0 when leading after eight innings.

 2018 Individual Notes

• Hendrik Clementina is hitting .354 on the year with a .727 slugging percentage. He is tied for first in the MWL in home runs with nine and fourth in RBI with 31 despite being 10 plate appearances short of qualifying for the batting lead. He would rank third in the league in batting average and first in slugging percentage (by 74 points).
• Stuart Fairchild over his last 13 games: 17 for 48 (.354) with two home runs, four doubles a triple, and nine RBI. He also has an eight-game hitting streak, batting .370 (10 for 27) during the streak.
• Jose Garcia over his last nine games: 11 for 27 (.407) with five RBI and four walks to raise his average from .150 to .195.
• John Ghyzel ranks first in the MWL lead in saves with nine. In 17 appearances, he has a 1.59 ERA.
• Cory Thompson has allowed earned runs in just two of his 18 relief appearances, posting a 1.44 ERA.  
• Dragons top performers in May: Hendrik Clementina (.364, 7 HR, 19 RBI); Stuart Fairchild (.306, 2 HR, 18 RBI); Jeter Downs (.269, 5 HR, 10 RBI); Andrew Jordan (1-0, 1.13 ERA, 3 GS); John Ghyzel (2 wins, 5 saves, 0.96 ERA). Team in May: 15-10; Batting: .261, 26 HR, 25 G. Team ERA: 4.82.

Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com)
Sunday, May 27 (7:35 p.m.): Dayton LH Packy Naughton (3-3, 4.80) at Bowling Green RH Jhonleider Salinas (2-1, 4.88)
Monday, May 28 (1:05 p.m.): Dayton TBA at Bowling Green RH Tobias Myers (4-3, 5.97)