Dragons GameDay Saturday, July 3, 2021 ⚫ Game # 52 Jackson Field ⚫ Lansing, Mich. ⚫ 7:05 p.m. Radio: 980 WONE Fox Sports Dayton Dragons (29-22) at Lansing Lugnuts (24-28) RH Eduardo Salazar (1-2, 3.70) vs. RH Reid Birlingmair (1-4, 5.80) Today’s Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Lansing Lugnuts (affiliate of the Oakland Athletics) in the fifth game of a six- game series. 2021 Season Series: Dayton 5, Lansing 5. Current series in Lansing: Dayton 2, Lansing 2. 12 Road Games in 13 Days: The Dragons are 5-4 on the road trip (West Michigan and Lansing), which has been shortened to 11 games due to a postponement in West Michigan that could not be made up during that series. They are averaging 4.7 runs per game and allowing 5.3. They are batting .233 (70-301) in the nine games with six home runs and five stolen bases (four came in the same game). The team ERA on the trip is 4.78 (75.1 IP, 40 ER). They have 10 errors in the nine games. Upcoming: 12 Home Games in 13 Days: The Dragons open a long homestand on Tuesday, July 6 against West Michigan. That six-game series at Day Air Ballpark will be followed by a six-game set against Great Lakes, also at home, beginning July 13. Last Game: Friday: Lansing 10, Dayton 3. The Lugnuts scored six runs in the first inning and never trailed by less than six the rest of the night. Season Highs from Last Night: Reniel Ozuna matched the team 2021 high for most doubles in a game with two. High-A Central League Playoffs: Major League Baseball has announced that leagues at the top four classifications will conduct playoffs in September. The top two teams in each league, regardless of division, will meet in a best-of-five series. Through July 2 (with 69 games to play), the Dragons would be in position to meet Quad Cities in the High-A Central League playoffs. Awards: Former Dragons pitcher Graham Ashcraft has been named the Cincinnati Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June. Ashcraft made three starts for Dayton in June and did not allow an earned run in 18 innings. He was promoted to Chattanooga after his start with Dayton on June 17 and made two starts with the Lookouts, tossing 14 more innings without allowing a run. For the month overall, Ashcraft worked 32 innings, allowing 10 hits and one unearned run, with nine walks and 39 strikeouts. He was 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Ashcraft is the second Dayton player to win a Reds monthly award in 2021. Brian Rey won the Batter of the Month in May. Player Notes • Francisco Urbaez is second in the league in batting average at .317. He is batting .351 over his last 26 games Jacob Hurtubise among since May 29 with a slugging percentage of .489 and an OPS of .924. Central League Leaders • Alex McGarry is batting .375 over his last six games (9-24, 3 doubles). • Andy Fisher over his last six appearances has tossed 14.1 innings, allowing just two runs (1.26 ERA) on nine On-Base Pct: 3rd .435 hits with 24 strikeouts. Batting Avg: T-10th .287 • Pedro Garcia over his last seven outings has tossed 11 innings, allowing one earned run (0.82 ERA) while Stolen Bases: 4th 25 going 4-0. Garcia is tied for the league lead in wins with five. Runs: T-6th 37 Walks: T-5th 31 Team Notes • The Dragons are 13-8 (.619) over their last 21 games. Oddly, they have been outscored 107-94 during those 21 games. • Dayton is in first place, one and one-half games ahead of Great Lakes in the High-A Central League East Division. • Dayton has held at least a share of first place after 41 of the 51 games they have played this season. They have not been lower than second place in the standings and have not been more than one and one-half games out of first at any time this season. • The Dragons are 18-8 in games decided by two runs or less, the best mark in the league. • The Dragons are 19-7 when scoring the first run of the game, second to Quad Cities for the best record in the league. • HITTING: The Dragons batted .247 as a team in June. Their top hitters for the month were Francisco Urbaez (.313, 1 HR, .818 OPS), James Free (.294, 1 HR, .889 OPS), Michael Siani (.273, 3 HR, .884 OPS), Quincy McAfee (.254, 9 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBI, .848 OPS), and Victor Ruiz (.317, 0 HR, .855 OPS). • PITCHING: The Dragons have allowed two earned runs or less in seven of their last 14 games including two shutouts. However, they have allowed at least eight runs in four of their last six games…The Dragons top starting pitcher in June was Graham Ashcraft (18 IP, 0 ER)…Their top reliever was Andy Fisher (1.59 ERA, 11.1 IP). • FIELDING: The Dragons have committed only 44 errors in 51 games, ranking first in the league in team fielding. • The Dragons roster is headlined by outfielder Michael Siani. Siani is listed by Baseball America as the “Best Athlete” and “Best Defensive Outfielder” in the Reds organization. He is ranked as the Reds 10th best prospect overall. Other Dragons players ranked by Baseball America are RHP Lyon Richardson (#13), RHP Noah Davis (#15), and OF Jacob Hurtubise (#41). Comeback Kids: June 8 and 9, the Dragons won two games in two nights despite trailing by five or more runs in each game. They had six such comebacks in the last five years (697 games), averaging 1.2 comebacks per season in games when trailing by five or more runs. The June 8 win after trailing 7-0 matched the largest comeback for the Dragons over at least the last 15 seasons. Records on comebacks date back to 2006. The Dragons have battled back to win five times after trailing by at least four runs since May 18. Over the last five years, they averaged 2.2 wins per season when trailing by at least four runs. The Dragons have won eight games in 2021 after trailing by at least three runs, compared to the five-year average of 5.6 per season. The Dragons have lost one game that they led by three runs or more this season. Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com) Sun., July 4 (6:35 p.m.): Dayton RH JC Keys (2-0, 2.08) at Lansing RH Colin Peluse (2-2, 5.15) TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER EDUARDO SALAZAR (#24) Height: 6-2 Bats: R Birthdate:May 5, 1998 Acquired: International Free Agent, March 4, 2017 Weight: 177 Throws: R College: None Resides: Cumana, Sucre, Venezuela Notes: Eduardo Salazar returns to the Dragons after spending the entire 2019 season in Dayton when the club competed at the Low-A level…2019: Worked out of the bullpen for the Dragons from opening night through July 4 (24 G, 4-1, 4.75 ERA)…Moved into the starting rotation on July 10 (11 GS, 2-2, 2.87 ERA)…Exceptional in final seven starts, posting a 2.29 ERA and allowing just 21 hits in 35.1 innings…Made biggest jump in competition level from 2018 to 2019 of any player on Dayton 2019 roster…After pitching in Dominican Summer League in 2017 and opening 2018 in extended spring training, worked as starter with AZL Reds for most of the 2018 season…Received late season promotion to Greeneville (Appalachian League) on August 6, 2018 and made four relief appearances with the G-Reds before opening 2019 season in Dayton. Salazar in 2021: Has gone at least five innings in eight of his 10 starts, coming up one out short in another…Tossed five scoreless innings against Great Lakes on second day of season to earn the win…Allowed just one hit in six shutout innings on June 3 at Lake County, getting no decision as Captains won 1- 0 with a run in the seventh…Lefties are hitting .191 with a .524 OPS against Salazar, while right-handers are batting .275 with an .831 OPS…Opponents are batting just .198 with runners on base…Has a 5.40 ERA at home compared to 1.64 on the road…Posted 2.81 ERA in May compared to 4.70 in June. Salazar vs. Today’s Opponent: Started games one and six of a six-game series vs. Lansing at Day Air Ballpark in early May…Went five innings in both starts, going 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA, allowing six runs (five earned) in 10 innings…Left game on May 11 trailing 4-2 after allowing a three-run fifth, as Lansing went on to win in extra innings, 9-4…Took the loss on May 16, leaving with a 2-0 deficit in a game that Lansing won 3-1. Last Start: Started Sunday in regularly-scheduled 9-inning game that followed completion of suspended game at West Michigan…Left after five innings trailing 2-1 before Dragons rallied to win, 5-3…Allowed just one hit over first four innings before surrendering three hits and two runs in fifth. Longest Start of 2021: 6 innings (two times—last on June 3) Most Pitches in a Start in 2021: 88 (June 15) SALAZAR’S CAREER STATS Season Team W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO 2017 DSL Rojos 4 4 2.70 12 12 0 0 0 60 54 22 18 10 47 2018 Greeneville 2 0 6.57 4 0 0 0 0 12.1 10 9 9 6 11 2018 AZL Reds 0 1 5.29 7 6 0 0 0 17 17 12 10 6 15 2019 Dayton 6 3 3.81 35 11 0 0 0 106.1 105 52 45 36 81 Career Multiple 12 8 3.77 58 29 0 0 0 195.2 186 95 82 58 154 2021: Dayton (High-A Central League) Date Opp W L ERA G GS CG IP H R ER HR HB BB SO AVG NP-S 5/5/2021 @GL 1 0 0.00 1 1 0 5 2 0 0 0 0 3 3 .125 79 - 44 5/11/2021 LAN 0 0 2.70 1 1 0 5 6 4 3 0 0 0 3 .222 82 - 55 5/16/2021 LAN 0 1 3.00 1 1 0 5 5 2 2 0 0 1 4 .232 81 - 54 5/22/2021 @SB 0 0 3.00 1 1 0 6 7 2 2 0 0 0 7 .250 87 - 63 5/29/2021 QC 0 0 2.81 1 1 0 4.2 4 3 1 0 0 2 3 .242 75 - 46 May 1 1 2.81 5 5 0 25.2 24 11 8 0 0 6 20 .242 404 - 262 6/3/2021 @LC 0 0 2.27 1 1 0 6 1 0 0 0 0 5 3 .212 82 - 46 6/9/2021 GL 0 0 3.19 1 1 0 5 7 5 5 2 0 1 7 .230 82 - 56 6/15/2021 FW 0 0 3.24 1 1 0 5 5 3 2 0 1 1 10 .233 88 - 57 6/20/2021 FW 0 1 3.71 1 1 0 2 2 3 3 1 0 2 3 .235 44 - 24 6/27/2021 @WM 0 0 3.70 1 1 0 5 4 2 2 0 0 1 5 .232 74 - 49 June 0 1 4.70 5 5 0 23 19 13 12 3 1 10 28 .221 370 - 232 Total A+ 1 2 3.70 10 10 0 48.2 43 24 20 3 1 16 48 .232 774 - 494 DRAGONS BATTERS RECENT STREAKS/NOTES at LAN 6/29-7/4 at West Mich.