The only run of the game came in the fifth inning. Dayton’s Yan Contreras walked to start the inning and Jay Allen II was hit by a pitch. Hector Rodriguez grounded out to second base to advance both runners, and Sal Stewart grounded out to shortstop to drive in Contreras to give Dayton the lead.
Harmon did not allow a hit until the fifth inning, and did not issue a walk. He threw only 70 pitches over the first six innings and returned to the mound in the seventh, becoming the first Dayton pitcher since 2022 to work beyond the sixth frame. Harmon struck out the first two batters in the seventh before allowing a ground rule double. He was replaced by Arij Fransen, the native of the Netherlands, with a man at second base and two outs.
Fransen walked the first batter he faced and then allowed a base hit to right field that loaded the bases. But the next batter hit a slow dribbler about 20 feet in front of the plate, and Dayton catcher Logan Tanner raced out to grab it with the bare hand and make a quick, off-balance throw to first to get the hitter by a step and save the lead.
Fransen pitched a scoreless eighth and then a perfect ninth for the save, striking out the final two hitters of the game.
Harmon (2-3) allowed just three hits and struck out five over 6 2/3 innings for the win.
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