Loons Drop Third Straight in Dayton

DAYTON, OH. – Great Lakes (16-17) dropped their third-straight game in a six-game series to the Dayton Dragons (19-14) Thursday night at Day Air Ballpark, 6-3 the final score. The highlight for Great Lakes came with Miguel Vargas extending his hit streak to 26 games, reaching base three times in his five trips to the plate and continuing the longest active hit streak in professional baseball. Jose Martinez tossed 3 2/3 innings in relief for Clayton Beeter (L, 0-2) after the former Red Raider recorded his longest start of the season.

Great Lakes benefited from the sixth consecutive multi-hit game for Zac Ching, who reached base in three of his five plate appearances. In that span, Ching is batting a league-best .500 average with 12 hits in 24 plate appearances, also leading the league in hits (10) and second in OPS (1.455) and slugging percentage (.917). James Outman was the only other Loon to record a multi-hit night, along with Ching, finishing with a double and triple, scoring runs on both.

Beeter loaded the bases in the first inning with a hit and two walks for Dayton’s Alex McGarry to club his third homerun of the season, giving Dayton a 4-1 lead into the second inning. Michael Siani recorded his first homerun of the season in the seventh inning, the final run scored of the night. The Dragons used a combined effort from Sam Hellinger (W, 1-0) Jacques Pucheu, and Braxton Roxby (S, 3) to tally 13 strikeouts, only allowing the Loons to walk three times. The Loons have struck out a combined 37 times in the first three games in Dayton.

Dayton knocked 11 hits to the Loons’ six, both committing two errors. Entering the series Tuesday, 10 of the Loons’ last 15 games were played error-free. Great Lakes has committed seven errors in the first three games of the current road series. As a team, the Loons finished 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

As a staff, Great Lakes held Dayton 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, only allowing the Dragons to score two runs after the first inning. Jacob Hurtubise, who leads the High-A Central in on-base percentage, reached base three times in his five trips to the plate, despite finishing hitless with no walks. Dayton’s bottom three hitters in their lineup of Miguel Hernandez, James Free and Reniel Ozuna finished 6-12 combined, striking out twice.

Great Lakes sends Bobby Miller to the mound for his sixth start of the season, as the Loons aim to take their first game of the series. In 14 1/3 innings, Miller has 17 strikeouts, only allowing earned runs in two of his five starts. Batters are averaging a .163 against Miller who carries a season WHIP of 0.91 into Friday. Dayton is scheduled to throw Graham Ashcraft, a 6’3 righty that was selected in the eighth round of the 2019 MLB Draft by Cincinnati. Great Lakes follows a road series to Dayton up with another six-game road trip to Lansing beginning on Tuesday, June 15. First pitch for Friday’s contest is scheduled for 7:09 p.m. EDT, follow live on ESPN 100.9 FM.

The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.