Dragons GameDay Wednesday, July 3, 2019 Game # 13 (83) Fifth Third Field Dayton, Ohio 7:00 p.m. Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE Bowling Green Hot Rods (10-2, 49-33) at Dayton Dragons (4-8, 32-50) RH Miller Hogan (1-1, 1.76) vs. RH Ricky Salinas (3-3, 3.65) Today’s Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Bowling Green Hot Rods (affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays) in the second game of a two-game series. 2019 Season Series: Bowling Green 7, Dayton 2 (at Dayton: Hot Rods 2, Dragons 1). Current Series: Hot Rods 1, Dragons 0. Last Game: Tuesday: Bowling Green 3, Dayton 0. Former Wright State pitcher Caleb Sampen tossed seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits, as the Hot Rods earned their eighth straight win. Bowling Green took the lead with two runs in the third inning and held that lead until they closed out the scoring with one run in the ninth. The Dragons top performer was Alexis Diaz, who fired four scoreless innings of relief. Jay Schuyler’s double marked the only extra base hit among the four Dayton hits. Team Notes The Dragons have gone three straight games without an error for the first time since May 3-5. The Dragons in the Second Half rank 12th in the MWL in team batting at .223, and 16th (last) in runs scored with 34 in 12 games. They rank 11th in the half in ERA at 4.28. The Dragons finished the month of June with a record of 14-11. Teams stats for the month (with league rankings among 16 clubs): Batting average: .235 (7th); Runs: 3.92 per game (7th); Home Runs: 9 (14th); Stolen Bases: 30 (3rd); Team ERA: 3.55 (8th). Their 14-11 record included a 10-game winning streak from June 2-12. The Dragons have lost 14 games in which they held a lead of at least two runs at some point during the game, and they have lost seven games after leading by at least three runs. They have lost two games in which they led by four runs, and one game after a five-run lead. The Dragons finished the first half with a 28-42 record. In the half, they finished 13th in Team Batting (.225); 14th in Runs; 16th in Team Pitching (4.51 ERA); and 14th in Team Fielding Percentage (95 errors in 70 games). Individual Notes Brian Rey is batting .321 over his last 17 games to raise his batting average to .289. The Dragons have two pitchers who could be strong contenders for Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month in June. They are: Ricky Salinas in June: 5 GS, 2-0, 1.03 ERA, 26.1 IP, 17 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 7 BB, 22 SO, .181 Opps. Avg. Connor Bennett in June: 9 G, 2-0, 6 saves, 0.00 ERA, 10.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 15 SO, .114 Opp. Avg. Bennett has not been scored upon over his last 10 appearances covering 11.1 IP. For the year, he is tied for 1st in the MWL in saves with 10. He is 1st in appearances with 30. The Dragons top hitters in the Second Half (12 G) have included Miguel Hernandez (.325, 3 strikeouts in 40 at-bats); Brian Rey (.296, 7 RBI); Pabel Manzanero (.465 slugging pct., 1 HR, 6 doubles); and Bren Spillane (.318, 1 double). Matt Pidich over his last 13 games: 1.40 ERA, 25.2 IP, 14 H, 9 R, 4 ER, 9 BB, 25 SO. Alexis Diaz over his last four games: 10 IP, 1 R, 0.90 ERA. The Dragons top hitters in June (25 G) included Brian Rey (.297, 2 HR, 14 RBI), and Michael Siani (.289, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 12 SB). *The Dragons enjoyed a 10-game winning streak from June 2-12. This winning streak tied for the second longest in franchise history and was the longest since 2007. The club record is 13 straight wins in 2002. During the winning streak, the Dragons outscored their opponents 55-30. During the streak, they led the league in team batting (.276) and team ERA (2.10). They were tied for third in runs scored (55). They were second in the league in stolen bases (21). They were third in in doubles (16). They ranked first in both holds (7), and saves (7). *Pabel Manzanero, the Dragons lone all-star selection, hit three home runs in a game on April 23 to become the fourth player in Dragons history to do so. He joins Wily Mo Pena (2001), Juan Francisco (2007), and Byron Wiley (2009). *Six members of the Dragons are rated among the Reds top 30 prospects (Baseball America). They are OF Michael Siani (#8); OF Mariel Bautista (#16); RHP Lyon Richardson (#17); RHP James Marinan (#19); 3B Juan Martinez (#22); and 1B Bren Spillane (#30). Additionally, SS Miguel Hernandez is ranked #25 by Fangraphs.com…Spillane was the 2018 Collegiate Baseball Magazine Player of the Year, the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, and a Triple Crown winner in the Big Ten with the University of Illinois. He batted .407 with 22 home runs in 50 games and produced a .944 slugging percentage that led the nation. Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com) Thursday, July 4 (7:35 p.m.): Dayton LH Connor Curlis (2-2, 3.86) at Bowling Green LH Matthew Liberatore (6-1, 1.50) Friday, July 5 (7:35 p.m.): Dayton RH Jhon De Jesus (1-7, 4.73) at Bowling Green RH Shane Baz (3-0, 1.85) TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER RICKY SALINAS Height: 6-2 Bats: R Birthdate: March 26, 1996 Acquired: Reds #25, 2018 Weight: 220 Throws: R College: Rice University Resides: Houston, TX Transferred to Dragons on April 24 from extended spring training. Notes: Opened the 2019 season in extended spring training…Enjoyed an excellent month of June (2019) when he made five starts and went 2-0 with a 1.03 ERA, allowing just four runs (three earned) in 26.1 innings…Spent the 2018 season at Billings…Enjoyed his best start in 2018 on August 23 at Idaho Falls when he pitched into the seventh inning, striking out nine with no walks and just two hits over six and two-thirds while allowing just one run on a solo homer…Played four seasons at Rice University (2015-18), but battled injuries over his final two seasons…Was 2nd Team All-Conference as a sophomore in 2016, going 9-2 with a 3.39 ERA…Co-leader in Conference USA in victories…Limited to total of 28.2 innings over his final two seasons at Rice…Played at Northshore High School in Houston, Texas…Two-time All-Greater Houston selection by the Houston Chronicle…Most Valuable Player of Texas District 21- 5A as a senior…Posted career record in high school of 16-5 with a 1.88 ERA…Also hit eight career home runs as four-year starter. Career Pitching Statistics Season League Team W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR HBP BB IBB SO WHIP AVG 2018 PIO Billings 2 2 4.53 14 14 0 55 64 32 28 9 2 15 0 59 1.42 .281 Career 2 2 4.53 14 14 0 55 64 32 28 9 2 15 0 59 1.42 .281 2019: Dayton (Midwest League) Date Opp W L ERA G GS SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WP BK TBF NP-S 4/26/2019 GL 0 0 6.75 1 1 0 4 6 3 3 2 0 1 5 1 0 18 76 - 48 5/3/2019 @CR 0 0 4.50 1 1 0 4 3 1 1 1 0 2 8 2 0 17 83 - 49 5/8/2019 CLI 1 0 4.85 1 1 0 5 8 3 3 0 0 2 10 0 0 24 81 - 59 5/14/2019 @GL 0 0 3.63 1 1 0 4.1 2 2 0 0 1 2 4 1 0 20 81 - 47 5/19/2019 @SB 0 1 4.79 1 1 0 3.1 6 5 4 1 0 3 2 0 0 19 82 - 46 5/24/2019 @BG 0 1 6.20 1 1 0 4 9 8 6 0 2 3 2 0 0 25 83 - 48 5/29/2019 LAN 0 1 5.93 1 1 0 5.2 4 3 3 1 0 2 5 0 0 22 79 - 49 6/4/2019 @WM 1 0 4.95 1 1 0 6 5 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 21 73 - 52 6/9/2019 FW 0 0 4.91 1 1 0 4 4 2 2 0 0 2 1 0 0 17 72 - 46 6/14/2019 @GL 0 0 4.27 1 1 0 6 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 22 74 - 52 6/22/2019 LAN 0 0 4.03 1 1 0 5 4 1 1 0 1 3 7 0 0 23 87 - 57 6/28/2019 @WM 1 0 3.65 1 1 0 5.1 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 20 80 - 47 Total 3 3 3.65 12 12 0 56.2 55 29 23 5 4 22 58 5 0 248 951 - 600 Pitching Rotation (in order of use) Lyon Richardson (RHP): Reds 2018 2nd round draft pick, Jensen Beach (Fla.) High School…2018 at Greeneville: 0-5, 7.14, 11 GS.