Dragons 4, TinCaps 0
HIGHLIGHTS: The bottom of the order drove in all the runs, and shortstop Billy Hamilton now has 18 steals after swiping second and third in the fifth inning. Hamilton also made a difficult play look routine in the seventh, ranging to his right and throwing out Alberth Martinez by a whisker.
TURNING POINT: It was 2-0 in the sixth when 6-foot-7 Juan Duran sent his third home run the opposite way to right field. "He got jammed," marveled second baseman Devin Lohman. "That's how strong he is. He hit one over the (scoreboard) in batting practice."
PITCHING STORY: With starter Josh Smith setting the tone with a dozen strikeouts, the Dragons became the first Midwest League team to 200 K's.
ON DECK: Johnny Cueto lookalike Daniel Corcino (2-2, 5.30) takes the mound against Fort Wayne as the Dragons try to finish off a 6-0 homestand.
DAYTON — Josh Smith is pitching like there’s a spot waiting for him in the Cincinnati Reds’ rotation and he doesn’t want to be late.
“I didn’t see this coming,” Dayton Dragons manager Delino DeShields said. “He had good stuff out of the bullpen last year, but I didn’t think he’d get acclimated to starting so quickly.”
A 21st-round draft pick last summer from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., the 23-year-old right-hander was at it again Friday with six shutout innings in a 4-0 defeat of the Fort Wayne TinCaps at Fifth Third Field.
Smith had nine strikeouts through three innings and finished with 12, two short of the team record set by the long-forgotten Josh Hall in 2001.
“He had good command of his breaking ball — that was the key,” one scout said. “He got ahead in the count with fastballs, and then he would throw a backdoor curve to lefties. To righties, he would throw the slider in the dirt for the strikeout.”
The Dragons have won five straight, 11 of 12 and eight in a row at home.
“It’s easy to get on a roll when the guys behind you are on a roll, too,” said Smith, whose ERA shrank to 0.93 over five starts.
In college last spring, Smith was fourth in the country in strikeouts, twice fanning 15 in a game, and yet major-league teams were not exactly camped on his doorstep. He signed with the Reds for $1,000.
“We got lucky,” Reds minor league field coordinator Freddie Benavides admitted. “He can really pitch.”
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