Lugnuts snap Dragons winning streak

Lansing, MI - The Lansing Lugnuts scored all four runs in the fourth inning and held off a Dayton comeback attempt as they defeated the Dragons 4-3 on Sunday afternoon. The Dragons’ four-game winning streak came to end as their second half record slipped to 37-18. Despite the loss, the Dragons “magic number” to clinch a playoff berth was trimmed to seven when Great Lakes lost to Bowling Green to remain eight games behind the Dragons with 15 games to play. The Dragons are 12-3 over their last 15 games.

The Dragons took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Billy Hamilton led off the game with a single to right, stole second and third on the first two pitches to Ronald Torreyes, and eventually scored on Kurtis Muller’s ground out to give the Dragons an early lead.

But Lansing scored four runs in the fourth, taking advantage of two Dayton errors in the inning in addition to two walks and a hit baseman with the bases loaded the brought in the fourth run of the frame.

Dayton battled back, scoring an unearned run in the fifth when David Vidal, who had reached on an error, scored on a sacrifice fly by Frank Pfister to make it 4-2.

In the sixth, Torreyes singled to start the inning and went to second on Muller’s infield hit. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third and Donald Lutz’s RBI ground out brought in Torreyes to make it 4-3 as Muller advanced to third with one out. But Juan Duran and Vidal both struck out to end the threat.

In the eighth, the Dragons got Muller to third with two outs, but Duran struck out to end the inning, and Dayton went out in order in the ninth.

Dragons starting pitcher Tanner Robles (5-9) suffered the loss. He worked four and one-third innings, allowing four hits and four runs (two earned) with six walks and four strikeouts.

Both teams finished with just five hits. Torreyes was 2 for 4 as the only Dragons player with more than one.

The Dragons continue the series in Lansing on Monday at 7:05 p.m. (WONE 980 AM). Daniel Corcino (9-6, 3.25) will start for Dayton against Lansing’s Tyler Powell (2-4, 4.62). The next home game is Saturday, August 27 vs. West Michigan at Fifth Third Field.

Notes: Hamilton’s two stolen bases gave him 86 on the season…Dragons reliever Chad Rogers fired three and two-thirds scoreless innings to lower his earned run average to 2.98 on the season.