Take away those three defensive mistakes and West Michigan leaves the bases loaded instead of scoring four runs. And the two runs the Dragons scored in the bottom of the 10th would have snapped a two-game losing streak.
Here’s the final punch line: West Michigan 13, Dayton 11. And nobody in the Dragons’ clubhouse is laughing.
“We can’t afford to give extra outs, especially at critical parts of the game,” Dragons manager Vince Harrison said. “We’re professionals – we have to be better.”
The game fell apart for the Dragons after Jay Allen II hit a three-run homer in the eighth for a 9-8 lead. He also hit a two-run homer in the third. Allen has five homers and is batting .386 in the lead-off spot.
“He’s running on some good confidence right now, and he’s putting some good swings on the ball,” Harrison said. “It’s been fun to watch him start to come through.”
But the feel-good night for Allen was washed away by the Whitecaps with a one-out triple and double in the ninth to force a 10th inning. Then came the mistakes in the 10th, which the Dragons’ struggling bullpen can’t afford. Three Dayton relievers allowed nine runs. The relief corps entered Wednesday’s game with a 6.32 ERA, which ranks 115th out of 120 minor-league teams.
The Whitecaps’ 10th began with a balk by Brock Bell, moving the free runner to third. Then an error by shortstop Leo Balcazar put runners on the corners. A ground ball to third baseman Sal Stewart helped when he threw the free runner out at the plate.
With runners at first and second, Seth Stephenson singled to load the bases. Then Austin Murr walked for a 10-9 lead. Max Anderson then popped up behind the plate, but catcher Cade Hunter overran the ball and it dropped behind him. He wasn’t charged with an error, but Anderson followed with a two-run single and Luke Gold added a sacrifice fly for a 13-9 lead.
With no mistakes, Anderson’s popup, had it been caught, would have ended the inning with the bases loaded and the score still tied. And Victor Acosta’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th would have been all the Dragons needed to have the last laugh.
The loss also spoiled a night when Hector Rodriguez hit a two-run homer, Cam Collier had two more hits and Balcazar had two hits.
The Dragons (9-14) are in fifth place in the East Division, a half-game ahead of last-place Fort Wayne and a game behind West Michigan (10-13). But as the Dragons often do, they started fast and led 3-0 after three innings. They have outscored opponents 55-40 in the first four innings. But they have been outscored 36-15, including 3-1 on Wednesday, in the fifth and sixth innings. Some of that is starters, but a lot of it is the bullpen.
“We have to have guys step up and get outs,” Harrison said. “That’s the bottom line.”
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