August 18, 2024 – Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons press release
Sunday, August 18, 2024 l Game No. 48 (114)
Parkview Field l Fort Wayne, Indiana l 1:05 p.m.
Radio: Fox Sports 980 WON
Dayton Dragons (29-18, 63-50) at Fort Wayne TinCaps (17-30, 45-68)
RH Gabriel Aguilera (1-4, 5.35) vs. RH Braden Nett (3-1, 5.10)
Game today: The Dayton Dragons (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) face the Fort Wayne TinCaps (affiliate of the San Diego Padres) in the final game of a six-game series.
In the standings: The Dragons are two games ahead of West Michigan in the Midwest League’s East Division (2nd half) with 19 games remaining. Great Lakes is three and a half games behind the first place team.
Series/Trends: The Dragons have won four games in a row and eight of their last 10 games. They have a record of 29-15 (.659) in their last 44 games. They have a record of 50-31 (.617) in their last 81 games (since May 12).
Last game: Saturday: Dayton 8, Fort Wayne 7. John Michael Faile’s grand slam home run highlighted a seven-run sixth inning as the Dragons erased an early 5-0 deficit. Jay Allen II added two hits and two RBIs. The Dragons had a season-high 10 walks in the game.
Current series (August 13-18 in Fort Wayne): Dayton is 4-1 in the series.
Dayton team stats in the Series: .266 batting average (47 for 177); 6.8 runs/game (34 R, 5 G); 4 home runs; 3 stolen bases; 3.89 ERA (44 IP, 19 ER); 7 errors.
Team notes
The Dragons are 15-2 when their starting pitcher goes 6+ innings and 39-10 when the starter goes 5+.
The Dragons are 57-33 (.633) in night games and 6-17 (.261) in day games.
The Dragons rank second in Minor League Baseball (120 teams) in terms of average attendance (8,011) behind Indianapolis (8,293).
Player Notes
New Dragons catcher/first baseman John Michael Faile finished his five-year college career at North Greenville University as the NCAA Division II record holder for home runs and RBIs, twice posting a batting average over .400 and once winning his conference’s Triple Crown. Faile has hit home runs in each of his first three games with the Dragons, including a grand slam on Saturday.
Leo Balcazar’s 15-game hitting streak ended Saturday at 0 for 2. This was the longest hitting streak by a Dayton player since Francisco Urbaez hit 15 straight games in 2021. During his hitting streak, Balcazar batted .317 (20 for 63) with two home runs.
Ethan O’Donnell in his last 19 games: 30 for 79 (.380), 2 HR, 7 2B, 4 3B.
Jay Allen II in his last 11 games: 13 for 34 (.382), 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 3B, 6 RBI, 8 BB. Allen broke the franchise record for hits-by-pitch in a season with 22 (previous record was 17).
Cam Collier has 16 walks and 45 batting appearances in his last 10 games. In the current series with Fort Wayne, he has 6-for-14 walks and nine walks for an OBP of .600.
Starting pitcher Ryan Cardona since July 1: 6 GS, 5-0, 1.36 ERA, 32.2 IP, 14 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 33 SO, .128 opposing batting average. Cardona was named the Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July. In July, Cardona made four starts and went 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA.
Reliever Simon Miller in his first 12 appearances since being called up from Daytona: 20 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 9 BB, 23 SO, 1.35 ERA, 5 Sv.
Reliever Cody Adcock in his last 3 games: 6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO.
Upcoming Probable Pitchers (Game times are Dayton time) (All games on WONE 980 AM and www.daytondragons.com)
Tuesday, August 20 (7:05 p.m.): Cedar Rapids TBA at Dayton LH TJ Sikkema (3-3, 4.21)
Wednesday, August 21 (7:05 p.m.): Cedar Rapids TBA at Dayton RH Ryan Cardona (8-4, 3.35)
Thursday, August 22 (7:05 p.m.): Cedar Rapids TBA at Dayton RH Brian Edgington (2-0, 4.33)
Dragons ticket information: daytondragons.com/tickets Dragons 2024 schedule: milb.com/dayton/schedule
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