Pitching and defense propel Nuts to third straight win
DAYTON, OH – No cliché here: Behind strong pitching and great defense, the Lansing Lugnuts (17-23, 42-64) beat the Dayton Dragons (12-26, 51-53) for the third straight game, 3-2, on Friday night at Day Air Ballpark. It is the first time this season that Lansing has won three consecutive road
DAYTON, OH – No cliché here: Behind strong pitching and great defense, the Lansing Lugnuts (17-23, 42-64) beat the Dayton Dragons (12-26, 51-53) for the third straight game, 3-2, on Friday night at Day Air Ballpark.
It is the first time this season that Lansing has won three consecutive road games.
The Lugnuts collected a total of three hits against four Dragons pitchers: a one-out double in the first inning by Max Muncy, who stole third and was wild-pitched home by Dayton starter Steve Hajjar for a 1-0 lead; a leadoff single by Jared McDonald in the second inning, who was left stranded; and a one-out single by Shane McGuire in the ninth inning, who was left stranded.
But after the Dragons tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth on a Brian Rey RBI single off Lansing starter Jake Walkinshaw, the Nuts took the lead for good with two runs in the fifth against Frainger Aranguren.
Joshwan Wright walked, was wild-pitched to second, and scored on a Patrick McColl fly ball dropped in left field by Ashton Creal. McColl then scored on another wild pitch for a 3-1 lead.
Back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the fifth inning from Steven Leyton and Ashton Creal drew the Dragons within one, but they could get no closer. Walkinshaw wrapped up a five-inning stint with his seventh and eighth strikeouts, stranding runners at second and third, and then the defense took over.
How about a purely defensive highlight reel from tonight's 3-2 win at Dayton!
— Lansing Lugnuts (@LansingLugnuts) August 13, 2022
Take a bow, SS Max Muncy (@Maxmuncy_8), 2B Cooper Bowman (@cooper_bowman), LF Lazaro Armenteros, 3B Sahid Valenzuela (@Sahidv04) and RF Joshwan Wright (@JWright039)! pic.twitter.com/yXDILl0a6d
With reliever Joe DeMers on the mound in the sixth, left fielder Lazaro Armenteros made a running catch in deep left field that led him into the wall, robbing Mat Nelson of extra bases, and second baseman Cooper Bowman made a barehanded play of a ball that ricocheted off DeMers’s glove to rob Leyton of a base hit.
In the bottom of the seventh, Armenteros made a diving catch on a Creal sinking line drive and Sahid Valenzuela ranged into foul territory deep behind third base to throw out Noelvi Marte on a grounder, completing a second scoreless inning for DeMers.
And with the tying run aboard in the ninth, right fielder Joshwan Wright made a sliding catch on a fly ball from pinch hitter Austin Hendrick and then a running grab on a Creal slicer down the line to record the final two outs of the game.
The Lugnuts look for the series win and a fourth consecutive victory on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m., sending right-hander Kyle Virbitsky (3.38 ERA) against debuting Dayton right-hander Javi Rivera.
The Nuts play the Dragons through Sunday at Day Air Ballpark before returning to Lansing for a six-game series with Great Lakes from August 16-21. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit lansinglugnuts.com or call (517) 485-4500.
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