Dragons Win as Greene Breaks Stadium Record

Dragons 2, Fort Wayne 1
                                                
Fort Wayne (R-H-E): 1-5-0
Dayton (R-H-E): 2-8-0
Win:  Wendolyn Bautista (4-5)
Loss: Tom Cosgrove (2-5)
Save: John Ghyzel (18)
 
HR: Dayton: None
HR: Fort Wayne: None
 
Dayton, Ohio-Five Dayton pitchers combined to allow just five hits and one run as the Dragons edged the Fort Wayne TinCaps 2-1 on Thursday night. The win evened the series at one win apiece with the rubber match set for Friday night. A crowd of 7,542 was in attendance at Fifth Third Field.
Dragons starting pitcher Hunter Greene broke the Fifth Third Field record for fastest pitch when he fired a fastball at 102 mph as the last pitch of the first inning, getting a called third strike with the pitch. Greene, big league all-star Aroldis Chapman, and current Dragons reliever Aneurys Zabala had previously reached 101 mph on the speed gun at Fifth Third Field. Chapman was on a major league injury rehabilitation assignment with the Dragons when he reached 101 in 2014.
Greene fired two scoreless innings, striking out four without allowing a hit, and left the game unexpectedly after the second inning. Dragons manager Luis Bolivar said after the game that Greene's exit was due to an upset stomach and was not injury-related.
The Dragons broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jeter Downs singled, stole second and third with one out, and after a walk to Leandro Santana, Downs scored on Alejo Lopez's single to right field to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead.

The Dragons added another run in the seventh, putting together a two-out rally. Andy Sugilio reached on an infield single, stole second, and scored on a pair of wild pitches to make it 2-0.
Fort Wayne scored one run with two outs in the ninth inning before Dragons closer John Ghyzel notched a strikeout to end the game with the tying run at first base. Ghyzel picked up his league-leading 18th save.
The victory was credited to Wendolyn Bautista (4-5), who tossed four scoreless innings in relief of Greene. Brian Hunter and Ryan Nutof each pitched a scoreless inning after Bautista left the game.
The Dragons finished with eight hits. Lopez, Lorenzo Cedrola, and Jeter Downs each had two.
In the Standings: The Dragons improved to 16-17 in the second half with the win. They remained one-half game out of the wildcard spot in the Midwest League's East Division Second Half race. Fort Wayne fell to 15-17.
Up Next:  The Dragons close out the three-game series with Fort Wayne on Friday night at 7:07 p.m. Packy Naughton (5-9, 4.19) will start for Dayton against Fort Wayne's MacKenzie Gore (1-5, 4.26). Gore was the third overall pick in the 2017 draft, taken with the pick after the Reds selected Hunter Greene. After Friday's game, the Dragons remain home to open a four-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts on Saturday night.
Game Broadcast:  Friday's game will be televised on Dayton's CW (Channel 26; Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013). All Dragons games are broadcast on radio on Fox Sports 980 WONE and on the internet at wone.com. Games are also available on the Dayton Dragons mobile app.
For Dragons 2018 ticket information, call (937) 228-2287.