TODAY’S GAME
South Bend at Dayton, 7 p.m.
WONE-AM (980)
DIGITAL EXTRA
View photos at MyDaytonDailyNews.com
It’s not unusual for former Cincinnati Reds greats to anchor in the Dragons’ dugout. That’s where former Reds All-Star pitcher Mario Soto (1977-88) was planted during Monday night’s series opener against the visiting South Bend Cubs.
A Dominican Republic native, it’s Soto’s job to huddle with Latin American players. Instead of sharing how to throw a two-seam fastball or baffling change-up, Soto’s trademark pitches, he’ll address a cultural divide.
“I work with the kids all over from the Dominican all the way to Louisville,” said Soto, a Reds’ front-office assistant general manager, following the Cubs’ decisive 6-1 victory. “I’m usually on the road once a month. Usually, I try to spend at least five days with a club, that way I get to see everybody.
“My job is to talk to the kids. The clubs have an everyday pitching coach. They’re the guys that have that everyday real job. It’s usually the Latin guys I’m with. Those are the guys you need to talk to a lot. Sometimes they don’t understand the language or the culture. That’s not stuff the everyday pitching coach will address.”
That’s a relatively recent position that all major-league clubs have invested in and is a direct result of the top-heavy Latin talent that continues to flood pro baseball. It also was something Soto didn’t have access to during his playing days.
“Oh, no,” he said. “We just learned on our own.”
Dragons starter and losing pitcher Jacob Constante (2-7), also from the Dominican Republic, is among the many Latin players on the Dragons who Soto will seek out. Constante was signed as a teenager, mainly because his fastball was consistently in the mid-90s. But that velocity has progressively lessened. The Cubs totaled nine hits and four earned runs in six innings off him.
By then the Dragons trailed 4-1 and there would be no rare comeback. Leadoff hitter and center fielder Zack Shields and right fielder Argenis Aldazoro each had two hits for the Dragons (17-47), who lost their second straight game. None of the Dragons’ seven hits went for extra bases.
Cubs outfielder Eddy Martinez had four hits and designated hitter Ian Rice three more. That was enough to make a winner of Cubs starter Kyle Miller (1-1), a 19th-round draft choice last year out of Florida Atlantic. South Bend (38-25) leads the ML East Division by a half game with six remaining in the first half of the season.
“Just not a whole lot was happening,” Dragons manager Dick Schofield said. “It was a flat game from the get-go.”
Dragons' tales: Former Dragons pitcher Tyler Mahler, a 2015 Midwest League All-Star, fired a no-hitter on Monday night for the Daytona Tortugas, the Reds' advanced Class A affiliate in the Florida State League. Daytona beat the Jupiter Hammerheads (Marlins) 4-0 and Mahler improved to 8-3.
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