The new guys:
· Shortstop Matt McLain batting second. He’s the Reds’ first-round draft choice last month out of UCLA and came in hitting .417 in his first three games. He’s rated the Reds’ No. 4 prospect by Baseball America.
· Second baseman Ivan Johnson batting third. He was a fourth-round pick in 2019 and was promoted from Daytona where he hit .410 in his final 10 games. He’s rated the Reds’ No. 15 prospect.
· Catcher Mat Nelson batting fourth. He was just drafted in the supplemental part of the first round out of Florida State where he led the nation with 23 home runs. He’s rated the Reds’ No. 11 prospect.
· Designated hitter Jack Rogers batting sixth. He’s an outfielder just drafted in the ninth round and homered twice in his first three games.
Johnson, however, was the only one to make a good impression in his Day Air Ballpark debut. He hit a two-run homer, his second as a Dragon, but that was about it for Dayton in a 4-2 loss to Lake County.
Three Captains pitchers combined for a two-hitter and struck out 11 in a seven-inning game that began after a two-hour rain delay.
The Dragons (48-43) fell into second place in the High-A Central League East Division behind the Captains (49-42). The Dragons trail Cedar Rapids (50-41) by two games in the race for the league’s second and final playoff seed.
Johnson got the Dragons’ first hit with his homer in the fourth after McLain walked to become the Dragons’ first baserunner against Kevin Coulter. Jacob Hurtubise led off the Dragons’ sixth with an infield single and stole second, but McLain and Johnson struck out to end the inning.
Johnson’s first homer as a Dragon was in his debut on Aug. 10. He has now hit in all seven games as a Dragon and is hitting .357 with six RBIs.
It was the Dragons’ worst night at the plate in a while. Over the previous seven days, they led the league in with a .293 batting average and 50 runs. They were second in home runs with 12, slugging percentage at .553 and OPS at .929.
The Captains stole a 1-0 lead in the first with some help. With runners on first and second, the Captains put on the play to get in a rundown between first and third and try to sneak the runner home from third. Catcher Nelson bounced his throw to McLain. When the ball got away from McLain, the runner scored.
Dragons starter Spencer Stockton issued two walks and hit a batter to load the bases with one out in the fourth. Gianpaul Gonzalez followed with a double high off the wall in left-center – inches from a grand slam – off JC Keys to push the Captains lead to 3-0. The Captains added a run in the seventh.
THURSDAY’S GAME
Lake County at Dayton, 7:05 p.m., 980
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