“I love being in that position, honestly,” he said. “I like to say I thrive in it.”
Miller matched the intensity of the situation. He struck out the first batter on a slider and got the next one to ground out to end the inning. In the ninth, two runners reached and pitching coach Brian Garman made a trip to the mound. Next pitch: ground out to first and the Dragons won their fourth straight game, 4-2 over Lake County at Day Air Ballpark.
“He was just slowing the game down,” said Miller, a 12th-round draft choice last year. “All I can do is just throw strikes, and that’s what I try to do every time I go out there.”
Miller’s bulldog approach reflects the Dragons as a team this week. They have won four straight against the Captains, the first-half Midwest League East Division champion and owner of the best overall record in the division (62-44). Because West Michigan lost 7-0 to Beloit on Saturday in a one-hitter, the Dragons (25-16, 59-48 overall) expanded their hold on first place to 1.5 games.
“It’s been a good week to see where our team is because they’ve accepted the challenge,” manager Vince Harrison Jr. said. “I think we’re learning a lot about our guys.”
Mason Pelio made his fourth start for the Dragons since returning from an elbow injury. He pitched four innings for the second straight start and threw a season-high 75 pitches. He allowed two runs on three hits and four walks.
Then the bullpen, as it has done in the four victories, protected the lead. Easton Sikorski (3-2) pitched two innings, John Murphy pitched 1 1/3 and Miller 1 2/3 for his fourth save.
“Everybody pulls for each other – I think that’s the biggest thing,” Miller said. “When everybody’s pulling in the same direction, usually everyone succeeds. I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”
Harrison and Garman make pitching plans for every game, and in the past four games those plans have led to the relief corps producing a 1.10 ERA over 16 1/3 innings.
“We got to give our guys some credit,” Harrison Jr. said. “If we were losing then I’m pushing the wrong buttons. These guys have talent, and Simon Miller has been there for us a bunch. Murphy has been incredible for us. The big thing for us was Pelio starting to get into it and able to go a little deeper.”
The Dragons’ offense has not let deficits bother them this week. Down 2-0, Connor Burns and Cade Hunter walked to begin the third. With two outs, Ethan O’Donnell, the Dragons’ hottest hitter, singled over the third-base bag to get Burns home. The throw to first was wide for an error and Hunter scored the tying run.
Jay Allen II hit a two-out home run, his 10th this season, in the fourth for a 3-2 lead.
Cade Hunter and Victor Acosta led off the fifth with singles, but Carlos Jorge, O’Donnell and Hector Rodriguez struck out. But O’Donnell got another chance in the seventh and lined a two-out RBI single to center for the final run. O’Donnell is hitting .412 over his past 13 games.
“He’s locked into an approach,” Harrison Jr. said. “He gets out of it a little bit sometimes just like a lot of young guys do. The game gets fast and situations get big and they lose that for a second, but overall it’s good.”
Harrison Jr. understands the squandered opportunities like the fifth inning and a similar situation in the eighth. But when hitters make good on a second chance, he sees progress.
“Ethan is an example of he had an opportunity early and he didn’t get it done,” Harrison Jr. said. “Then he came back later and got it done.”
It’s been that kind of week.
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