The Lansing Lugnuts scored one run in the bottom of the eighth and another in the ninth to rally past the the Dayton Dragons 7-6 on Friday night. The loss snapped Dayton’s four-game winning streak.
The Dragons got a two-run home run from Quin Cotton in the second inning and held a 3-0 lead going to the bottom of the third before Lansing rallied. The Lugnuts took a 5-3 lead in the fifth before the Dragons staged their own comeback effort, scoring two in the sixth to make it 5-5.
Dayton’s Jack Rogers, who joined the team on Wednesday after closing out his college career this spring at Sam Houston State, belted a tie-breaking home run to right field in the top of the eighth to give Dayton a 6-5 lead. It was the first homer of Rogers’ professional career.
But Lansing tied the game in the eighth and pushed across the winning run in the ninth on a one-out single by Yerdel Vargas that brought in Drew Swift from second base on a close play at the plate to end the game.
The game marked just the third time this season that Dayton has lost after holding a lead of at least three runs.
Rogers was 2 for 4 to lead a seven-hit Dayton attack. Cotton’s home run was his second in the last two nights and team-leading ninth of the year. Jacob Hurtubise had a triple, walk, and run scored.
Dragons starting pitcher Lyon Richardson allowed five runs on eight hits over four and two-thirds innings, striking out eight and walking two. The loss was charged to Sam Hellinger (1-2), who pitched to three batters in the bottom of the ninth and allowed the game-ending hit.
The Dragons’ lead in the East Division of the High-A Central League was 1/2 game over Lake County entering Saturday’s games.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Dayton at Lansing, 1:05 p.m., 980