Dragons Lose 3-2; Remain Two and One-Half Games out of First Place

Lansing 3, Dragons 2

Click here for the box score

Lansing (R-H-E): 3-8-1; Dayton (R-H-E): 2-7-2

Win: James Gonzalez (1-0); Loss: Hunter Parks (3-6); Save: Charles Hall (3)

HR: Dayton: None HR: Lansing: Jacob Wilson (1^st, 0 on base in ninth inning).

Dayton, Ohio—Four Lansing pitchers combined to scatter seven hits as the Lugnuts defeated the Dayton Dragons 3-2 on Thursday night. The win was Lansing’s first in the series after Dayton wins on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A crowd of 8,266 was in attendance at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District.

The Dragons remained two and one-half games behind first place West Michigan in the Midwest League East Division standings as the Whitecaps lost to Peoria for the second straight night. There are 15 games to play in the second half season.

Lansing took the lead with single runs in the second and fourth innings, jumping ahead 2-0. The Dragons pulled to within a run in the fifth when Justice Thompson doubled to the center field fence, went to third on a ground out to the right side by Carlos Jorge, and scored on Edwin Arroyo’s sacrifice fly to make it 2-1.

Lansing’s Jacob Wilson hit a solo home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning to give the Lugnuts a big insurance run as they took a 3-1 lead to the bottom of the ninth.

Dayton’s Hector Rodriguez reached on a throwing error with one out in the bottom of the ninth, and Thompson singled to right to move Rodriguez to third. A wild pitch brought in Rodriguez and moved Thompson to second with one out. But Jorge struck out swinging, and Arroyo grounded out to third to end the game.

Thompson led the Dragons offense with a double and single. Rodriguez had a double in his first game with the Dragons.

The loss was charged to Dayton starting pitcher Hunter Parks (3-6), who worked four innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits with five walks and four strikeouts.

Myles Gayman tossed three scoreless innings of relief for the Dragons. Over Gayman’s last four outings, he has tossed 12.2 innings without allowing a run.

Up Next: The Dragons (27-24, 60-57) host Lansing (22-29, 53-63) on Friday at 7:10 p.m. in the fourth game of the six-game series at Day Air Ballpark in the heart of the Water Street District. Jose Acuña (7-3, 3.57) is scheduled to start for Dayton. For ticket information, go to daytondragons.com/tickets or call (937) 228-2287.

On the Air: Dragons games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be televised on Dayton’s CW (Channel 26; Spectrum Cable channels 13 and 1013). All Dragons home and road games are broadcast on radio on FOX Sports 980 AM WONE. Games can be heard on smart phones, iPads, and other mobile devices via the free Dragons Mobile App, or on a computer at wone.com. Games are also available on HD Radio on 104.7 WTUI HD 2.