“I heard them, but tunnel vision kept me on the pitcher and the pitch,” Thompson said.
Thompson lined the next pitch just past the shortstop for a single to send Allan Cerda home with the winning run in first-place Dayton’s 10-9 victory over West Michigan on Saturday afternoon at DayAir Ballpark.
“I was ready for the moment,” Thompson said. “I knew I had a chance to come up that inning and I was prepping way before I got up to the plate.”
Thompson is the newest Dragon. He joined the team from Low-A Daytona on Friday and got his first hit as a Dragon on a double in the second inning.
His new roommate is first baseman Alex McGarry, who tied the score in the ninth inning with a single.
“It’s kind of baptism by fire for him,” McGarry said. “Everybody was on their feet, game’s on the line, good pitcher on the bump. That’s the intensity that you find playing at home here. I’m glad he got to experience that one of his first days out.”
Dragons manager Bryan LaHair had some previous experience with Thompson and was not surprised his new outfielder thrived in the moment.
“Justice, he’s a cold-blooded type player,” LaHair said. “He likes those moments. He likes those challenges.”
The Reds drafted Thompson in the sixth round out of North Carolina last year, and he played in his 39th professional game Saturday.
“I’m loving every moment of pro ball so far,” he said. “And I think the biggest thing is competing and have fun.”
The Dragons (10-4) rebounded after Friday’s loss that ended a six-game winning streak. The entered the day with a 1 1/2 -game lead on Fort Wayne.
While Thompson finished the rally, it took five others getting on base to give him the chance after West Michigan took a 9-7 lead in the top of the ninth on Colt Keith’s two-run homer.
Ashton Creal led off with a double and Jose Torres followed with a single. With runners at second and third with one out, Creal scored on a wild pitch that sailed over the catcher’s head. After Cerda walked, McGarry added to his team-leading RBI total of 11 with a line single to right to tie the score.
“This group of players has been fighting through to the finish line,” LaHair said. “These guys know the expectations and they’re never going to give at-bats away.”
McGarry was ready for his moment, too. He hit the first pitch hard like he has been doing all season to score Torres. He leads the Dragons with five home runs, including a solo shot in the third inning.
“I was seeing the ball well all day, so I felt good,” McGarry said. “I felt like I was the right guy at the plate at that time.”
The Dragons have yet to lose a game this season in which they have led. They built a 7-4 lead on the strength of a two-run homer by Elly De La Cruz, McGarry’s homer and Garrett Wolforth’s solo homer in the fifth. The Whitecaps (7-7) tied the score with a three-run sixth.
The only thing left to decide is which roommate is buying dinner.
Thompson laughed and said: “We might go half and half.”
Castillo on Sunday: Reds starter Luis Castillo will start Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. game against West Michigan in his first rehab appearance. Castillo is scheduled to pitch three innings or throw 50 pitches, whichever comes first.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Whitecaps at Dragons, 1:05 p.m., Dayton CW, 980
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