None of the moments that got the Dragons in that position were simple actions. But in the winning moment, Burns approached his at bat with a keep-it-simple thought.
“I was just going up there, hunting for anything over the heart of the zone, get in the air and get our guy home,” Burns said.
And with one simple swing of Burns’ bat and a simple fly ball to left field, Ricky Cabrera tagged up, sped home from third base and dove across home plate — not that he needed to — with the winning run in the Dragons 5-4 victory over first-place West Michigan.
The celebration of Burns’ sacrifice fly continued on the field as starting pitcher Adam Serwinowski showered him with a big yellow barrel of cold water. Burns earned every drop of it. He hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the fifth inning, threw out a base stealer from one knee in the fourth and kept the pitching staff calm in the face of potential game-wrecking storms.
Credit: LHVisuals
Credit: LHVisuals
“I love Burnsy,” Serwinowski said. “He’s a hard worker, great teammate, great friend, just a guy that you want on your team.”
Before Burns could strike the winning blow, the Dragons had to tie the score in the ninth. Leadoff man Carlos Jorge walked to start the inning and flew home from first on Leo Balcazar’s double to the left-field corner.
In the top of the 10th, Dragons reliever Graham Osman faced the top of the Whitecaps’ order. First was Max Clark, the No. 2 prospect in baseball. He bounced out to first. Then Osman struck out Seth Stephenson. Next was Josue Briceno, owner of a three-run homer in the sixth inning and considered one of the best hitters in the Midwest League. He flew out to end the inning.
“Usually, in those situations, you’re you’re hoping you get away with just one,” Dragons manager Vince Harrison Jr. said. “That was a big moment. I’m proud of Graham because he got back into attack mode today and he was good.”
Credit: LHVisuals
Credit: LHVisuals
Cabrera started the bottom of the 10th on second. Harrison considered his options and asked Myles Smith to bunt Cabrera to third. He did so perfectly on a 2-0 pitch when he knew Marco Jimenez would be firing away in the upper 90s.
“We’ve been out on the field a couple times this week bunting, and he was the first guy there, so I knew I could trust him in that spot,” Harrison Jr. said. “Seems like it’s pretty easy, but it’s not that easy, especially off of Jimenez.”
Then Burns, batting in his customary eighth spot, hit the sacrifice fly for the Dragons’ first walk-off win this season. The team’s last walk-off came on a home run by John Michael Faile last season on August 31, also against the Whitecaps.
“Some of our best guys didn’t have the days they wanted — someone else has got to pick them up,“ said Burns, who is hitting .156 after a 2-for-3 day and his first homer. ”I’m glad the bottom part of the order did that today for us."
Credit: LHVisuals
Credit: LHVisuals
Serwinowski set a good tone for Dayton (8-12) with another strong start. He allowed two hits and one run in five innings and left the game trailing 1-0 with his ERA at 1.59. Burns’ two-out, three-run homer in the eighth put the Dragons up 3-1 and Serwinowski in position to earn his first win.
But that script was rewritten in the top of the sixth. Joseph Menefee, unscored upon in five appearances, relieved Serwinowski and did what all pitchers eventually do — allow runs. Menefee walked Clark, hit Stephenson with a pitch on a bunt attempt and gave up the lead on Briceno’s three-run homer down the right-field line that barely cleared the wall.
Menefee rebounded and pitched 2 2/3 innings. He allowed no more hits, two walks, no more runs and struck out five.
“A lot of guys crumble in that spot,” Harrison Jr. said. “And as bad as that start was, he got out of that inning, and his next inning was super crispy. It allowed us to push him even more. Proud of his response.”
Credit: LHVisuals
Credit: LHVisuals
The Dragons enter Sunday’s finale with Wade Miley expected to start for the second time this week on his big-league rehab assignment. In this first start Tuesday after a season off because of Tommy John surgery, Miley surrendered six runs in a 10-0 loss.
If the Dragons can win on Sunday, it would mean a 4-2 series win. That would be big for a team that lost a three-game series at West Michigan (13-7) to start the season and entered this week 5-10.
“We’ve made some strides this week,” Harrison Jr. said. “We have challenged the guys with some stuff that we’ve seen happening over the past couple weeks. And they responded in a good way. Some of our pitchers got more aggressive. Hitters are bringing way more awareness to the situations.”
Like bunts and when all you need is a fly ball.
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