Dunn’s bat was at it again with four RBIs and a home run on the first pitch in the bottom of the first. But the best part about Sunday afternoon was a rain-shortened, sigh-of-relief 8-1 victory over Lake County at Day Air Ballpark.
“We wanted to come out today get a win to get some momentum going into this two-week road trip,” Dunn said. “To get a full-team performance and come out with a win is big for us.”
The Dragons (8-13) won for only the second time in the six-game series, which will make for a happier bus trip Tuesday morning to Lansing for the start of a 12-game road trip. The win was especially gratifying after two straight one-run losses further sunk the Dragons’ record in one-run games to 0-7.
“We have to clean up the one-run games and tight ballgames and execute a little better,” manager Bryan LaHair said. “Sometimes the ball bounces one way or the other and sometimes it’s tough to swallow.”
The Dragons entered Sunday with a 3-5 record over their previous eight games. However, it felt to the Dragons that the record should have been better. They batted .266 over that stretch, which was 22 points higher than the next best team in the league.
On Sunday, the Dragons banged 11 hits, including Dunn’s homer and doubles by Edwin Arroyo and Austin Callahan. The game was stopped by heavy rain and called 15 minutes later with the bases full of Dragons and one out.
“We really haven’t had a day where we’ve had a tough loss and came back with no energy,” LaHair said. “Sometimes tough losses take the wind out of team’s sails, but it doesn’t with this team That’s a really good sign.”
Outfielder Austin Hendrick, who is batting .197, flashed good signs as well Sunday. He lined a hard single to right to start a two-run inning. In the fourth, he slugged a deep line drive to center that was run down. In a 2-for-17 series, those were his two best at-bats. Hendrick was a first-round pick and No. 12 overall out of high school in 2020.
“Sometimes you get off to a slow start and try to do a little more,” LaHair said. “His gears are a little different than most, and he’s a special talent, he’s got special tools. He’s got a bright future and he’s a hard worker.”
The Dragons also got strong pitching to hold the first-place Captains (13-7) to four hits. Jose Acuna made another strong start and pitched out of trouble in each of his four innings, allowing one run on four hits and three walks. Brooks Crawford pitched three perfect innings of relief and Jayvien Sandridge pitched a perfect eighth. The last 15 Captains went down in order.
Ex-Dragons update: Remember how exciting Jacob Hurtubise was running the bases and playing the outfield in Dayton. He’s doing it again in Double-A Chattanooga, but now he’s showing power. Hurtubise didn’t hit a home run in high school, college or the minors until he hit one last season in Chattanooga. On Saturday he hit his third home run this season. His slash line is .286/.462/.490 with a .952 OPS, 10 RBIs and six stolen bases.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Lansing, 6:05 p.m., 980
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