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Y! MyWebDragons closing in on playoff berth
5-4 win over Lansing reduces magic number for wild card to two.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
LANSING, Mich. — Brandon Waring hit two home runs, including his 20th of the season, and Jeremy Horst fired six scoreless innings as the Dayton Dragons defeated the Lansing Lugnuts 5-4 on Wednesday night, Aug. 27.
The victory cut the Dragons' "magic number" to two in the Midwest League Eastern Division wild-card race. The Dragons lead the Fort Wayne Wizards by four games with five games to play.
A Dragons win today, coupled with a Fort Wayne loss, would clinch a playoff spot for Dayton.
The Dragons hit two home runs and scored three times in the top of the first inning. Zack Cozart singled to left with one out, and Neftali Soto followed with a line-drive home run to left field, his sixth of the season, to give the Dragons a 2-0 lead.
Waring followed with a home run to left-center to make it 3-0. It was just the second time this season the Dragons have connected on back-to-back home runs.
In the fifth, Soto was hit by a pitch with one out, and Waring followed with a home run to left to make it 5-0.
Meanwhile, Horst sailed through the first six innings. The left-hander allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out six. He allowed just one runner past first base and no one beyond second. Horst improved to 8-2 with the win and is 5-0 as a starting pitcher.
Lansing started back in the seventh inning against reliever Henry Arias. Arias walked the first two batters in the inning and later allowed a pair of RBI hits as the Lugnuts pulled to within three at 5-2.
In the eighth, the Dragons suffered through one of their poorest defensive innings as they committed three errors leading to two unearned runs. The Lugnuts did not have a hit in the inning but took advantage of a throwing error by Waring, a dropped fly ball in center field by Brandon Menchaca, and a throwing error by catcher Devin Mesoraco to draw to within one at 5-4.
But Jeff Jeffords tossed a perfect ninth inning, helped by a great diving catch in foul territory by Waring, to earn his sixth save and close out a Dragons win.
The Dragons play at Lansing again at 7:05 p.m. today in the final road game of the regular season. Enerio Del Rosario (4-2, 1.33) will start for the Dragons. The Dragons will close out the regular season with a four-game series at home against West Michigan starting Friday at Fifth Third Field.
Notes: Soto's home run extended his hitting streak to 12 straight games, one short of the team's season high of 13 by Waring ... Fort Wayne defeated South Bend 7-2 to remain four games behind the Dragons in the wild-card race.
