Michael Beltre hit a home run and scored three runs and Montrell Marshall drove in three runs for the second straight day as the Dayton Dragons defeated the Burlington Bees 8-4 on Thursday afternoon. The Dragons swept the three-game series in Burlington and extended their winning streak to four straight games.
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The win was the 11th comeback victory of the year for the Dragons as they improved their record to 13-11. After battling back from a six-run deficit to win on Tuesday and then erasing a 3-0 Burlington lead on Thursday, the Dragons fell behind 2-1 in the second inning on Thursday, but prevented the Bees from extending their lead and then raced out to an 8-2 lead of their own.
The Dragons tied the game in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Stuart Fairchild and Montrell Marshall, then took the lead with three runs in the fifth. Fairchild was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the go-ahead run, and Marshall followed with a two-run single to make it 5-2. Dayton added three more runs in the seventh, keyed by John Sansone’s two-run double with the bases loaded, as Dayton built an 8-2 lead. Burlington scored single runs in the seventh and ninth to close out the scoring.
The Dragons enjoyed a big series against the Bees, who entered Tuesday’s opener to the set with the Midwest League’s best team earned run average. But the Dragons scored 25 runs over the three games for their third series sweep of the year and their first on the road.
Dragons reliever Austin Orewiler (3-1) earned the win with five and one-third innings of quality work. He allowed five hits and one run with one walk and one strikeout. Orewiler entered the game in the second inning with the bases loaded and two outs and got a foul fly out to end the threat before working the next five innings as the Dragons built their lead.
Dragons starting pitcher Hunter Greene pitched a scoreless first inning, getting a strikeout with runners at first and third and one out and then working out of further trouble. In the second, Greene’s pitch count rose to 55 as he allowed two runs in the inning. For the day, he worked one and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on three hits with four walks and one strikeout.
Tyler Buffett pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Dragons and Sarkis Ohanian allowed one run in the ninth.
The Dragons collected seven hits. Marshall was 2 for 4 with a double, walk, run scored, and three runs batted in. Beltre’s home run was a solo shot in the first inning, his first of the year. He walked twice in the game, stole two bases, and finished the day with a batting average of .360. Fairchild was on base four times, had a double, and scored two runs. He is hitting .310.
In the Standings: With a record of 13-11, the Dragons are in fourth place in the Midwest League East Division, three games behind first place Lansing pending the other league action tonight.
Up Next: The Dragons open a three-game series at Clinton, Iowa against the Clinton Lumber Kings on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. Adrian Rodriguez will start for the Dragons and make his Midwest League debut.
The next Dragons home game is Monday against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at 7 p.m. at Fifth Third Field. The game will mark the start of a six-game homestand for Dayton.
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