Dragons clinch Eastern Division title

Dayton, OH - David Vidal and Juan Duran belted home runs and three Dayton pitchers combined on a six-hit shutout as the Dragons defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps 6-0 on Sunday before a crowd of 8,599 at Fifth Third Field. With the win and a Fort Wayne loss vs. Lansing, the Dragons clinched the Midwest League Eastern Division second half title, earning their first playoff appearance since 2008.

The Dragons will battle Lansing in the first round of the playoffs beginning Wednesday, September 7 at Fifth Third Field in Dayton. Playoff tickets can be purchased at the Dragons Box Office or by calling (937) 228-2287. Game two and (if necessary) game three of the best-of-three series will be played in Lansing.

The Dragons (43-19) captured the third division title in franchise history. The team won the first half championship in both 2001 and 2007. The Dragons’ current record is the best in all of Minor League Baseball among full-season leagues that play a split-season format.

Sunday’s 6-0 win was the second straight shutout victory for the Dragons, who have not allowed a run in 18 innings in the current series vs. West Michigan. The Dragons also broke the club record for shutout victories in a season with their 14th of the year. The 2001 Dragons had 13 shutout wins.

The Dragons scored three runs in the first inning on Sunday to take an early lead. With two outs and the bases empty, Kurtis Muller walked, stole second, and scored on Donald Lutz’s single. David Vidal followed with a two-run home run to right field, his 19th homer of the year, to make it 3-0.

Juan Duran led off the Dragons second inning with a long home run high off the netting beyond the left field fence. It was Duran’s 15th homer of the year. The Dragons added two more runs in the third to close out the scoring.

Starting pitcher Josh Smith (13-7) tossed six strong innings for the win. He allowed just three hits and no walks with six strikeouts to increase his league-leading total to 159. Smith also became just the third pitcher in Dragons history to win at least 13 games in a season.

The Dragons finished with 13 hits. Muller, Duran, Billy Hamilton, Ronald Torreyes, and Chris Berset each had two. Hamilton extended his hitting streak to nine straight games.

The Dragons also tied the club record for most wins in a month with their 20th win in August (20-7). The Dragons won 20 games in June of 2002. The Dragons are 18-4 over their last 22 games.

The Dragons host West Michigan at Fifth Third Field on Monday at 7:00 p.m. (WONE 980 AM). Mitch Clarke (3-2, 2.86) will start for Dayton against West Michigan’s Kevin Eichhorn (9-5, 3.78). The series concludes on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

Notes: Dragons reliever Daniel Wolford tossed a scoreless ninth inning on Sunday, extended his scoreless streak to 34.1 innings…The Dragons lowered their team earned run average to 3.37 in the game. The club record is 3.41…Dragons pitchers have struck out 21 and walked only two in the series.