The Dragons showed that resiliency Wednesday with a victory one night after a two-run loss full of missed opportunities. Thursday night’s humbling, however, might be a little harder to bounce back from – the Dragons were battered 15-3 by the Great Lakes Loons – but LaHair has a single expectation for Friday when his team returns to Day Air Ballpark.
“The way you were feeling, the way we leave tonight, that’s not what we’re looking for,” he said. “You get the night to look back and reflect and feel how you want to feel, but then when we wake up in the morning, we’re right back at it.”
Dragons left fielder Blake Dunn had the best night at the plate for the Dragons (2-4) with his second home run of the season, a two-run, 106 mph laser to left in the eighth inning. But other than exciting the remaining fans starved for something to cheer about, the homer did not affect the outcome.
“Honestly, you just kind of flush it, learn from it, get to the ballpark the next day,” Dunn said. “That’s the great thing about baseball is you’ve got another day tomorrow to play the game.”
LaHair’s faith that his team will produce at the plate hasn’t wavered six games into the Midwest League season. But the Dragons’ bats have been largely silent. Only one team in the league is worse than their .176 batting average, and they’ve struck out a league-high 81 times.
“You’ve got to fight back from adversity,” Dunn said. “We’re going to come back, play hard tomorrow and try to get a win.”
The Dragons’ pitchers had their worst night this season, allowing 11 hits, eight walks and a season high in runs.
Starter Javi Rivera (0-1), a 20th round pick in 2021, threw two scoreless innings of relief last week. But in his first start he allowed six runs, five of them earned, on four hits and three walks. Tanner Cooper, a 35th round pick in 2019, allowed two runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. Jayvien Sandridge, an undrafted free agent, allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning. And Braxton Roxby, also an undrafted free agent, allowed five runs, four of them earned, in an inning and a third.
“Everybody’s in the same boat tonight,” LaHair said. “It wasn’t like anybody really experienced anything different. Those games are never fun to be a part of.”
The Loons didn’t start as fast as the Dragons did Wednesday when Tyler Callihan hit a first-inning grand slam. Instead, they scored single runs in the first two innings. They waited until the third to put four runs on the scoreboard.
Dalton Rushing, the top Dodgers prospect in a Loons uniform, doubled in the first run in the third. Chris Alleyne followed with a sacrifice fly and Taylor Young hit a two-run single for a 6-0 lead. In the fourth, Yeiner Fernandez hit a 424-foot two-run homer for an 8-0 lead. In the ninth, Alex Freeland hit the second grand slam allowed by the Dragons this season.
Ex-Dragon update: Andrew Abbott, who started last season in Dayton, is bucking for a promotion. In six scoreless innings Thursday night for Double-A Chattanooga, Abbott struck out 14, walked none and allowed two hits. In his first start this season, Abbott struck the first nine batters he faced and finished with 11 Ks in 4 2/3 innings.
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