The Dragons, who have spent 43 of 53 games in first place, enter Tuesday night’s series opener against West Michigan and a 12-game homestand as the No. 2 team in the league. Quad Cities (35-17) of the West Division leads the Dragons (30-23) by 5.5 games for the top seed.
The battle for the second seed is tight as the 120-game season nears the halfway point. The Dragons lead East Division foes Great Lakes (30-24) by half a game and Lake County (29-25) by 1.5 games. Cedar Rapids (28-26) of the West Division trails the Dragons by 2.5 games.
The regular seasons ends Sept. 19. The No. 2 seed will host games Sept. 21 and 22. The top seed will host Sept. 24-26 as necessary.
The tiebreakers, in order, are head-to-head record, best winning percentage of final 20 games, best winning percentage of final 21 games, etc. The Dragons own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Quad Cities, winning their only series 4-2 in late May. The Dragons don’t play Cedar Rapids. The rest of the schedule is against East Division opponents.
Road trip: The Dragons return to Day Air Ballpark after a 6-5 road trip and a 3-3 split at Lansing. Rain during the previous stop at West Michigan shortened that series to five games. The Dragons return to West Michigan in early August, but a makeup date has yet to be announced.
Pitcher of the Month: Graham Ashcraft was named the Cincinnati Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Month for June. He made three starts for Dayton and did not allow an earned run in 18 innings. Then he was promoted to Double-A Chattanooga and made two starts without allowing a run in 14 innings.
In return, reliever John Ghyzel was sent to Dayton from Chattanooga. Ghyzel saved 19 games for the Dragons in 2018 and pitched for Daytona in 2019. This season for the Lookouts he pitched in 12 games with an 8.18 ERA. Since returning to Dayton, he has made four appearances with a 7.36 ERA.
More roster changes: Since the Dragons were last in town, Ashcraft wasn’t the only promotion. Infielder Quincy McAfee was sent to Chattanooga and infielder Johnathan Willems went to Triple-A Louisville.
McAfee hit .222 with four homers and 29 RBIs as a regular with the Dragons. He is 5-for-19 in five games with the Lookouts. Willems hit .216 as a part-time player in Dayton. He is 1-for-7 in five games with the Bats.
First baseman Bren Spillane returned from a week on the development list on June 23 and is 0-for-3. Spillane was a third-round pick in 2018. His career minor-league batting average is .213 with a .700 OPS and 12 homers in 390 at-bats.
Pitching staff additions are starter JC Keys from Chattanooga and relievers Daniel Duarte from the Reds’ rookie team in the Arizona Complex League and Ricky Karcher from Low-A Daytona. Starter Noah Davis went on the injured list on July 1 and reliever Sam Hellinger was sent down to Daytona on June 29.
Who’s hot: Infielder Francisco Urbaez hit .313 with an .818 OPS in June and is top five in the league in batting at .311. He is hitting .340 over his last 28 games.
First baseman/outfielder Alex McGarry is batting .303 over his last eight games (10-for-33, three doubles).
Reliever Andy Fisher has allowed two runs over his last six appearances (14 1/3 innings) for a 1.26 ERA. He has allowed two runs, nine hits and struck out 24.
Reliever Pedro Garcia has allowed one earned run in his last seven outings (11 innings) and earned four wins.
This week’s starters: The rotation has a different look with Ashcraft moving up and Davis injured. Jacques Pucheu (2-0, 4.61) makes his third start Tuesday following 11 relief appearances. Carson Spiers (1-1, 4.23) goes Wednesday followed by Lyon Richardson (2-3, 5.21) and Eduardo Salazar (1-2, 3.38). Saturday’s starter has not been announced. Pucheu is scheduled for Sunday.
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