Chapman has spent the last week throwing “live” batting practice to teammates before games. Dragons pitching coach Tony Fossas says throwing to minor league hitters is more of a challenge than it appears. “I think that anytime you are faced with a different uniform, whether it’s the minor leagues or the major leagues, it’s a different level of energy,” Fossas said.
Fossas, a fellow native of Cuba, says he likes having major-league pitchers come to Dayton. “It all depends on the big leaguer,” Fossas said. “Every major-league pitcher I’ve had here has spent time with the guys and talked to them.” Fossas says much of that talk is reinforcing what he tells them.
“But when it comes from a guy that’s close to their age and they see on TV it sometimes sinks in a little quicker,” he said.
One thing the minor-league players appreciate is the postgame meal. It’s an unwritten rule that visiting big leaguers pick up the tab for a catered spread in the clubhouse.
That’s something that usually costs between $1,500 to $2,000. Which is more than the monthly salary of a player on the Dragons roster.
Chapman will be the 26th different Reds player to spend time with the Dragons rehabbing an injury. But none of the previous big leaguers has come to town with more "buzz" than the hard-throwing left-hander.
There are some scattered seats available and lawn tickets will go on sale too. The Dragons are expecting their sellout streak to hit 997 consecutive games.
Dragons swept: Dayton and Lansing had some extra work to do Wednesday, finishing the game suspended by rain in the fourth inning Tuesday. The Dragons quickly scored twice to tie the game at 4-4 on RBI singles by Humberto Valor and Carlton Daal.
The Lugnuts bounced back with three unanswered runs, capped by a two-run homer by D.J. Davis in the sixth. Dragons catcher Brandon Dailey hit a solo homer in the bottom half, but that’s as close as the home team got, losing 7-5.
Dayton wasted a solid pitching performance in the regularly-scheduled game. Nick Travieso threw a season-high seven innings, allowing three runs on four hits. But the Dragons could only produce a first-inning sacrifice fly in a 3-1 loss that was shortened to seven innings due to the suspended game. It was Travieso’s first loss in five starts.
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