Duno Blasts Long Home Run in Dragons Shutout Win on Saturday

DRAGONS 5, LAKE COUNTY 0

Click here for the box score

Dayton (R-H-E): 5-8-0; Lake County (R-H-E): 0-4-1

Win: Beau Blanchard (1-0); Loss: Rafe Schlesinger (0-1); Save: Jimmy Romano (1)

HR: Dayton: Alfredo Duno (1^st, 0 on base in fifth inning). HR: Lake County: None

Dayton, Ohio—Dayton pitchers Beau Blanchard and Jimmy Romano combined on a four-hit shutout and Alfredo Duno hit his first High-A home run as the Dragons defeated the Lake County Captains 5-0 on Saturday afternoon.

The Dragons have won three straight games in the series after Lake County won the first two contests.

A crowd of 7,739 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

Game Recap: The Dragons jumped out to an early lead, scoring runs in each of the first two innings without a ball leaving the infield. In the first inning, Kien Vu was hit by a pitch and Carlos Sanchez followed with a walk. Alfredo Duno reached on an infield single to load the bases, and John Michael Faile grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring in Vu. In the second inning, Carter Graham was hit by a pitch to start the inning and with one out, Johnny Ascanio reached on an infield single. Vu was hit by a pitch for the second time to load the bases, and Sanchez grounded into a fielder’s choice to bring in Graham to make it 2-0.

The Dragons added two more runs in the fifth. Duno blasted a long home run to left field to start the inning, his first of the year. Two outs later, Anthony Stephan walked, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Carter Graham’s line drive single to center to make it 4-0.

The Dragons closed out the scoring in the eighth when Ascanio walked and scored from first base on a double to the right-center field gap by Sanchez.

Dragons starting pitcher Beau Blanchard (1-0) worked six shutout innings, allowing four hits and only one walk with five strikeouts. He became the first Dayton pitcher this season to go at least five innings in a start.

Jimmy Romano replaced Blanchard to start the seventh inning and retired all nine batters he faced to earn the save. Romano struck out three.

The Dragons finished the game with eight hits. Duno was 2 for 4 with the home run and a walk, raising his batting average to .348.

Notes: The game marked the Dragons first shutout win since July 6, 2025…The home run by Duno was the first by either team in the series with Lake County, which was in its fifth game on Saturday. It was the Dragons first homer since the first night of the season on April 2 when Esmith Pineda hit a home run at Lansing…The game was played in exactly two hours, which might make it the quickest game of the 2026 season. The Dragons did not have a game played in under two hours in 2025…Dragons opponents are batting just .206 for the year (seven games) against Dayton pitchers.

Up Next: The Dragons (4-3) host Lake County (3-5) in the last game of the six-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm at Day Air Ballpark. Nestor will start for the Dragons against Lake County’s Franklin Gomez.

On the Air: All Dragons home and road games are broadcast on radio on FOX Sports 980 AM WONE. 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.