Dayton Dragons begin nine-game road trip today at Great Lakes

Jul. 7—After splitting series with both the West Michigan Whitecaps and the Lansing Lugnuts as part of a 12-game home stand, the Midwest League First Half champion Dayton Dragons hit the road for a six-game series with the first-place Great Lakes Loons.

The Loons are 10-3 in the second half, while the Dragons are 7-7. Great Lakes is 7-3 in their last 10 games, while the Dragons are 4-6.

Here’s everything you need to know heading into this week’s series with the Loons:

Last week

The Dragons dropped the series opener to the Loons, but won three straight before falling in back-to-back games over the weekend to split the series.

What went right

The Dragons led the Midwest League with 21 doubles last week and ranked third in batting average (.271), fourth in hits (57) and tied for fifth in home runs (7).

Players to watch

After being sent back to Dayton last week, Dragons catcher Ryan McCrystal has been on a tear.

In six games last week, McCrystal went 13-for-25 with seven doubles, five RBIs and five runs. He hit .545 with a 1.338 OPS.

Outfielder Marcus Smith — who was signed from the Kansas City Monarchs of the independent American Association last week — went 6-for-17 with two home runs, five RBIs and a 1.106 OPS.

Player of the month honorees

Two Dragons players earned honors from the Cincinnati Reds for the month of June.

Dragons third baseman Carter Graham, who was recently promoted to AA Chattanooga, was named Reds Minor League Player of the Month. He hit .354 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs for the Dragons.

Lefty Kyle McCoy was named Reds Minor Pitcher of the Month. He went 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in five game, allowing 17 hits and five runs. In 24 innings, he had 28 strikeouts and nine walks.

What’s ahead

The Dragons begin a nine-game road trip on Tuesday, July 7, at Great Lakes before heading to Lake County to play a three-game series July 17-19. The All-Star break is July 13-16.

As the First Half champion, Dayton will have home field advantage in Midwest League East Division playoffs. They’ll play at the second half winner on Sept. 8 before hosting playoff games on Sept. 10 and Sept. 11.