The Dragons scored in the top of the first inning on a solo home run by the second batter of the game, Carlos Jorge, to make it 1-0. Jorge’s homer was his fifth of the season.
Dayton starting pitcher Nick Sando was making only his second start of the season after pitching out of the bullpen for most of the year. Sando, who replaced injured starter Brian Edgington in the Dayton rotation, tossed four shutout innings while allowing just one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.
Dayton added another run in the top of the sixth inning when Peyton Stovall walked and scored on Jack Moss’ double off the right field fence to make it 2-0.
The Lugnuts scored one run against Dayton reliever Jonah Hurney in the bottom of the sixth to make it 2-1, but the Dragons responded with a run in the top of the seventh to again lead by two. Jorge singled with two outs, stole second, and scored on Leo Balcazar’s double to make it 3-1. The Lugnuts added another run against Hurney in the bottom of the seventh to make it 3-2.
Hurney worked three innings for the Dragons, allowing two runs on four hits, and was replaced by Joseph Menefee to begin the bottom of the eighth with Dayton leading 3-2. Menefee allowed a lead-off walk in the inning, retired the next two hitters, and then allowed a two-run home run by Jared Dickey that put Lansing in front, 4-3.
The Dragons had a chance in the top of the ninth to tie or take the lead. Connor Burns opened the inning with a hit to left field and went to second on Johnny Ascanio’s sacrifice bunt. Victor Acosta was hit by a pitch to put men at first and second with one out, but Carlos Sanchez, pinch hitting for Jorge, grounded into a game-ending double play.
The Dragons had 10 hits in the game and have reached double-figures in hits in five of their last six games. They have collected 83 hits over their last six games, an average of 13.8 hits per game. They have scored 63 runs in the last six games, averaging 10.5 runs per game.
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