Delay prolongs Dragons’ misery
DAYTON — From marathon games to blowouts to late-inning heartbreakers, the Dayton Dragons thought they had seen everything during a franchise-record 17-game home losing streak.
They were wrong — again.
How about a 22-minute delay in the sixth inning when a power glitch plunged Fifth Third Field into darkness? How about leading 4-3 with two outs in the ninth only to lose 6-5 when the West Michigan Whitecaps pushed across a run in the 11th?
That’s what happened Saturday night, Aug. 7, extending the longest stretch of home futility at any minor-league level since at least 2005.
With the struggling Whitecaps (16-24 in the second half) in town to start a four-game series, the Dragons were hoping for their first home win since June 28 as another sellout crowd (8,925) lent its support.
“It sucks,” said left fielder Josh Garton, whose two-base error allowed two runs to score in the ninth. “The fans are so great and we’re not putting up for them. It’s not very fun.”
— Sean McClelland, staff writer
DAYTON — In 2009, Jacob Johnson, a high school pitcher in Lake Worth, Fla., turned down a scholarship from Wake Forest to sign with the Cincinnati Reds, who drafted him in the 11th round.
So far, it looks like the best decision of his life.
“It’s exciting to me, watching where he was to where he is now,” pitching coach Tony Fossas said. “The kid works hard, and he’s pitching with a lot of confidence.”
Johnson, 19, worked six strong innings in Friday’s 3-0 win at Lake County, helping the Dragons prevent a four-game sweep.
Call him a stopper. Call him an ace. Either description fits. The Dragons have won 21 games since May 26 and Johnson — who began the season 0-4 — is responsible for six of those, with a 3.12 ERA.
He’s 2-0 with a 1.07 ERA spanning 251/3 innings over his last four starts.
“Ace, No. 2, No. 3, doesn’t really matter,” the soft-spoken Johnson said. “I just try to get better between my starts and put up some zeros.”
Johnson, who bypassed rookie-level Billings after pitching well in the Gulf Coast League last year, was almost an afterthought in the early-season rotation behind the likes of J.C. Sulbaran, Josh Ravin, Brian Pearl and Pedro Villarreal.
Of that group, only Johnson remains active in Dayton. Ravin, Sulbaran and Pearl are on the disabled list and Villarreal, after being shifted to the bullpen in June to protect his arm, was promoted to high-A Lynchburg on Saturday.
“Jacob personifies what the Reds want to see out of the young guys, and that’s progress,” manager Todd Benzinger said. “It’s all about the direction you’re going.”
WORTH A TRY: Unconvinced it would do much good, Benzinger called a team meeting on Wednesday in Eastlake, where the Dragons were in the midst of losing three out of four to Lake County.
“Every meeting we’ve had this year has been a disaster,” Benzinger said, citing losing streaks of five and seven games that followed.
His latest message: Have some pride and finish the season strong.
“I told them to remember how they used to feel about those teams they used to beat by 20 runs in high school, and how that’s what other teams are thinking about them now,” Benzinger said.
“I was trying to push their buttons, because it bothers me. You have to really get (ticked) that people think of you like that.”
ROSTER MOVES: Villarreal got to the ballpark around 2:30 and a half hour later was packing for Lynchburg.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Villarreal said. “My mind was blank with excitement.”
Also Lynchburg-bound is pitcher Blair Carson. Filling one of the spots, up from Billings, is right-hander Daniel Corcino, who is expected to start Monday.
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