Dragons GameDay Monday, August 27, 2018 Game # 64 (132) Fifth Third Field Dayton, Ohio 7:00 p.m. Radio: Fox Sports 980 WONE Lansing Lugnuts (34-29, 77-56) at Dayton Dragons (25-38, 56-75) RH Kyle Weatherly (3-2, 3.81) vs. LH Packy Naughton (5-10, 4.25) Today’s Game: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) meet the Lansing Lugnuts (affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays) in the last game of a four-game series. Season Series: Lansing 17, Dayton 4. At Dayton: Lugnuts 6, Dragons 4. Current Series: Lansing 2, Dayton 1. Last Game: Sunday: Lansing 9, Dayton 5. The Lugnuts broke a 4-4 tie with one run in the eighth inning and four more in the ninth. Brandon Grudzielanek hit a three-run home run in the ninth and Reggie Pruitt added a solo shot in the same inning. The Dragons held a 4-2 lead through four innings, keyed by a two-run home run by Jeter Downs in the third. The Dragons finished with 14 hits, including four by Andy Sugilio. Alejo Lopez had three hits and Leandro Santana and J.D. Williams each added two. Playoff Chase: The Dragons must finish in the top two among eligible teams in the East Division in the Second Half (six teams competing; Bowling Green and Lansing ineligible). The Dragons are currently four and one-half games behind West Michigan and Fort Wayne (tied for the position) in the race for the #2 seed in the Second Half. There are seven games to play. 2018 Team Notes Twenty of the Dragons 38 Second Half losses have come by one run, including nine of the last 15. Two of the last three losses have come in extra innings. The Dragons have allowed three runs or less in 27 of their 63 second half games. Their second half ERA is 4.05 (5.31 in the first half). MWL East Division The Dragons have committed just 58 errors in their last 74 games. Second Half Race The Dragons finished the First Half with a record of 31-37, in sixth place in the East Division. (Top 2 Qualify for Playoffs) The Dragons threatened to tie the franchise record for most home wins in a half (25) in the First Half, but came Team W-L GB up short. They entered their final series, a four-game series with Bowling Green, with 22 home wins in the first Great Lakes 33-30 --- half, but they were swept in the series. West Michigan 29-33 -3.5 Meanwhile, the Dragons broke the club record for fewest road wins in a half. The club record was 10 road Fort Wayne 29-33 -3.5 wins, and the Dragons finished with nine. The Dragons played three fewer road games in the first half than the South Bend 28-35 -5.0 scheduled number of 35 due to three postponements at Great Lakes in April. Lake County 25-37 -7.5 Dayton 25-38 -8.0 2018 Individual Notes Bowling Green and Lansing are Hendrik Clementina (DH) and John Ghyzel (RH Relief Pitcher) were selected to the Midwest League Full- First Half qualifiers. Season All-Star Team (only 13 players selected among all 16 teams). Alejo Lopez over his last 38 games since July 15: 51 for 137, .372, to raise his average from .247 to .327. Lopez’s .372 average since July 15 ranks first among players on the 30 teams at the Single-A classification (Midwest League and South Atlantic League) and ninth among all full-season Minor League players (120 teams). Andy Sugilio over his last 19 games: 28 for 77, .364, 2 HR, to raise his average from .255 to .279. J.D. Williams over his last 17 games: 18 for 58, .310, to raise his average from .203 to .250. Jose Garcia has hit safely in 12 straight games, going 20 for 56, .357, to raise his average from .231 to .246. Garcia was selected as Midwest League Batter of the Week for the week of August 13-19. Ryan Nutof over his last eight relief appearances: 12.2 IP, 11 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 12 SO, 1.42 ERA. Dauri Moreta over his last four appearances: 9 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 SO, 0.00 ERA. Batter of the Week: Dragons infielder Jose Garcia has been named Midwest League Batter of the Week for the week of August 13-19. He batted .448 for the week (13 for 29) with two home runs. General Player/Team Notes Three current members of the Dragons are rated among the Reds top 30 prospects (MLB Pipeline). They are INF Jonathan India (#4); INF Jeter Downs (#7); and INF Jose Garcia (#14). INF Jonathan India is the 17th first round draft pick to play for the Dragons. India was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft out of the University of Florida. Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com) Tuesday, August 28: Do Not Play Wednesday, August 29 (7:00 p.m.): West Michigan RH Brad Bass (6-7, 4.11) at Dayton RH Austin Orewiler (5-4, 3.45) Thursday, August 30 (7:00 p.m.): West Michigan RH Wilkel Hernandez (2-5, 4.74) at Dayton RH Mac Sceroler (2-5, 6.00) Friday, August 31 (7:00 p.m.): West Michigan RH Carson Lance (0-3, 5.52) at Dayton RH Patrick McGuff (2-5, 3.74) TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER PACKY NAUGHTON Height: 6-1 Bats: R Birthdate: April 16, 1996 Acquired: Reds 9th, 2017 Weight: 190 Throws: L College: Virginia Tech Resides: West Roxbury, MA Member of Dragons 2018 Opening Day roster. Reds Prospect Ranking Lists: Baseball America: #28. Notes: Given name is Patrick Joseph Naughton…Had impressive debut season in Reds organization in 2017 at Billings, finishing with 3.15 ERA in hitter-friendly Pioneer League (league average ERA was 5.63)…Over final five starts, allowed just two earned runs in 25 innings…Spent three seasons at Virginia Tech from 2015-17, posting a career record of 7-14 with a 6.13 ERA in 52 appearances including 26 starts…As a junior in 2017, went 2-6, 6.24 in 17 games (seven starts)…In 2015, became just the third Virginia Tech true freshman ever to earn a win as a starter in an ACC game when he beat Duke…Set school record for consecutive batters retired (22) in 2015…Native of Boston…Played high school baseball at Boston Latin School, the first public school in America (established in 1635), with alumni that include Samuel Adams as well as several U.S. Senators, Congressmen, and signers of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution (Benjamin Franklin attended the school for two years but did not graduate). Career Pitching Statistics Year Team League Level ORG W L PCT ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HB BB IBB SO WP BK 2017 Billings Mustangs PIO Rok CIN 3 3 .500 3.15 14 12 0 0 0 0 60.0 58 24 21 5 1 20 0 63 2 0 Minor League Totals 3 3 .500 3.15 14 12 0 0 0 0 60.0 58 24 21 5 1 20 0 63 2 0 2018, Dayton (Midwest League) DATE OPP W-L-SV IP H R ER BB SO HR PITCHES NOTE April 5 at BG ND 5.0 6 2 2 3 4 1 87-54 Left leading 3-2, mid 6th. Dayton lost 5-4. April 10 LC ND 6.1 7 1 1 0 7 0 91-66 Left tied 1-1. Dayton won 4-1. Last 3.1 IP, 0 R, 7 K. April 19 SB W 6.0 4 2 2 0 4 0 84-61 Left leading 3-2, mid 7th. Dayton won 3-2. April 24 at LAN L 4.0 5 5 5 4 3 1 77-46 Left trailing 5-0, mid 5th. Dayton lost 7-0. April 29 FW W 6.0 8 3 3 1 8 0 81-58 Left leading 4-3, end 6th. Dayton won 4-3. May 5 at CLN W 7.0 5 2 2 0 8 0 90-68 Longest GS of ’18 (to date) by Dragons pitcher. May 10 PEO L 7.0 7 3 3 2 4 0 93-64 Third straight start without HR allowed. May 16 at LAN L 4.1 5 7 7 2 1 2 84-46 Allowed 5 in 5th as Lugnuts broke 2-2 tie. May 21 LC ND 5.0 5 2 2 1 5 1 88-61 Left after rain delay tied 2-2. Dragons won 5-4. May 27 at BG L 3.2 8 5 4 0 3 0 73-53 Left trailing 5-0 in top 4th; Dragons lost 8-1. June 1 LAN L 5.1 7 1 1 3 4 0 85-54 Left trailing 1-0 in top 6th; Dragons lost 12-1. June 6 at LC L 4.0 7 4 4 1 4 2 67-48 Left trailing 4-2, mid 6th; Dragons lost 5-2. June 12 at SB ND 6.2 7 2 0 0 5 0 81-62 Left tied 2-2; Dragons won 3-2. June 17 at WM L 3.1 11 6 6 1 4 0 86-56 Left trailing 6-0, bottom 4th.