Manzanero Blasts 3 Homers as Dragons Win, 7-4

Eastlake, Ohio-Pabel Manzanero became the fourth player in Dayton Dragons history to hit three home runs in one game as the Dragons topped the Lake County Captains 7-4 on Tuesday night. The two clubs have split the first two games of the series that will conclude on Wednesday at noon.

Manzanero, a right-handed batter, hit a two-run home run to right-center field in the first inning, a solo homer to right-center in the fifth, and a solo home run to left-center in the seventh. The three home runs gave him four for the year.
Wily Mo Pena in 2001, Juan Francisco in 2007, and Byron Wiley in 2009 also had three-homer games for the Dragons. Manzanero came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning with a chance to hit his fourth, but he grounded out hard to third base.
Dragons starting pitcher James Marinan (1-1) earned the win, going five innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Connor Bennett pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his first save.
For the second straight night, the Dragons hit a home run in the first inning. After Mariel Bautista reached on an infield single, Manzanero launch a two-run shot to right-center field to give the Dragons a quick 2-0 lead. Lake County responded with two runs in the bottom of the first to tie the score. The Dragons scored an unearned run in the second and added another run in the third on a run-scoring double by Juan Martinez to make it 4-2.
After Lake County scored one in the bottom of the third, the Dragons built their lead to 7-3 on Manzanero's second and third homers of the night and an RBI double by Miguel Hernandez. Lake County scored one in the seventh to end the scoring.
The Dragons finished the night with eight hits. Manzanero was 3 for 5 with four runs batted in, increasing his home run total for the year to four while lifting his batting average to .322. Hernandez had two hits including a double to extend his hitting streak to seven straight games.
Lake County finished with just five hits. Dragons pitchers retired 13 straight hitters over the middle innings. Marinan retired the last nine batters he faced.
Up Next: The Dragons (7-11) close out their six-game road trip on Wednesday at noon at Lake County (11-7). Lyon Richardson (0-2, 5.73) will start for Dayton against Lake County's Shane McCarthy (2-1, 1.69). The next home game for the Dragons is Thursday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. against the Great Lakes Loons.
On the Air: All Dragons 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.