DAYTON — The heat and humidity, which help balls travel farther, turned the Dayton Dragons into Murderer’s Row for a day — or maybe they were just due.

A team that ranks fourth from last in the Midwest League in home runs cranked three in the first inning and set a season high with four in all, beating Great Lakes 5-3 Saturday at Fifth Third Field.

Shortstop Juan Perez got the Dragons going with a home run on the second pitch in the bottom of the first. He said the team took batting practice inside in the cages, so they had no know idea that a powerful night lay ahead.

“I just went out there thinking if I get myself rolling, I can get the whole team rolling,” Perez said. “If I go, they go. I don’t really like swinging at the first pitch, but the second pitch was right there in my zone, and I took advantage.”

Later in the first, Yorman Rodriguez hit a two-run home run. Ryan Wright followed him with a solo shot. Kyle Waldrop hit the final home run, a solo shot in the fifth.

The Dragons hit all four home runs off Raydel Sanchez, who threw seven no-hit innings in his last start and had allowed just two home runs in 33 1/3 innings.

“He’s been hot,” Dragons manager Delino DeShields said. “He elevated some pitches early, and we jumped on them.”

Jacob Johnson started for Dayton and got his first win of the season. He allowed three runs, including two solo home runs, in six innings.

“JJ gave us six solid innings,” DeShields said. “That was the key for me. He kept us in the game.”

Wright’s home run extended his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest of the season for the Dragons. He’s now hitting .310, the fifth-best mark in the Midwest League.

“He’s just a baseball player,” DeShields said. “He’s a solid player. Ryan’s probably been our most consistent offensive player since day one, outside of (Steve) Selsky. He’s not surprising me right now. He’s doing what we expect him to do, night in and night out.”