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Y! MyWebDragons shut out Whitecaps
Sunday, August 24, 2008
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Enerio Del Rosario and Daniel Guerrero combined on a seven-hit shutout as the Dayton Dragons defeated the West Michigan Whitecaps 6-0 on Saturday. The win cut the Dragons "magic number" to six to clinch a playoff berth. Any combination of Dayton wins and losses by the Fort Wayne Wizards totaling six will put the Dragons in the playoffs. They lead Fort Wayne by four games in the wildcard race with nine games to play.
Del Rosario (4-2) worked the first six innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out five to earn the win. Guerrero worked the final three innings, allowing two hits and no walks with three strikeouts to pick up his first save.
Five of the Dragons six runs came with two outs as they built an early lead and held on to win their eighth game in the last 11.
Jason Bour led a 10-hit Dragons attack with a home run and double and two runs scored.
The Dragons scored four runs in the third inning to take the lead. Bour drilled a lead-off home run to left field, his sixth homer of the year, to start the scoring. After the next two hitters were retired, Zack Cozart singled to left and went to second when Neftali Soto singled to right. Denis Phipps singled to right to bring in Cozart, and the relay throw to third by West Michigan first baseman Chris Carlson sailed to the fence as Soto scored to make it 3-0. Brandon Waring then singled to center to bring in Phipps and make it 4-0.
In the fourth, Bour hit a high fly ball to center field that was lost in the twilight sky by Jordan Newton as Bour got to second with a gift double. With two outs, Keltavious Jones singled in Bour to make it 5-0.
The Dragons added one more run in the ninth when Jones walked, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Phipps' two-out single to left to give Dayton a 6-0 lead.
The Dragons and the Whitecaps meet again at Fifth Third Ballpark in Grand Rapids on Sunday at 2 p.m. Curtis Partch (5-9, 4.80) will start for the Dragons.
