Yerlin Confidan was the boost.
Confidan led off the bottom of the second with his third home run of the season. And the Dragons’ bats kept producing, the pitching went into shutdown mode and a beautiful night at Day Air Ballpark turned into a thing of beauty for the Dragons, a 5-2 victory and a music-filled clubhouse for the first time since Thursday.
One of manager Vince Harrison Jr.’s team-building tactics is a player of the game chain after each win. The previous winner chooses the next recipient. Reliever Easton Sikorski, who pitched two innings Tuesday for his second save, awarded the chain to Confidan in the clubhouse ceremony.
“It might not have been the most important play, but it ended up being the most valuable play,” Harrison Jr. said.
Tuesday’s loss was one of those games every team experiences at least once. Harrison Jr. didn’t have to say much to his players about their need to respond. Like Confidan hitting an opposite-field home run.
“The message was get back into attack mode, it’s a new day, tackle this day,” he said. “And I was really proud of the fight, considering we got punched in the mouth early again. But sometimes it just takes one, and Confy had that big hit, not trying to do too much, going back side, which was really impressive.”
The Dragons (6-11) were just beginning to attack the first-place Whitecaps (12-5) and end their seven-game winning streak. The next two batters walked, and the Dragons took a 3-2 lead on RBI singles by Johnny Ascanio and Carlos Jorge.
John Michael Faile hit his second homer of the season in the fourth for a 4-2 lead. Jorge doubled in the seventh and scored on Victor Acosta’s single for the final run. The Dragons lost out on a run when Harrison Jr. waved Ascanio home on Jorge’s double. But Ascanio was out from here to the Michigan state line on a strong, on-target throw by center fielder Brett Callahan.
“We were taking good at bats,” Jorge said. “We wasn’t chasing the pitch out of the zone. We were looking for our pitch, and we executed.”
Jorge bats leadoff and entered the game with a .167 batting average. The two hits raised his number to .206.
“Feels so good — I’m not gonna lie to you,“ he said. ”I always trying to help the team the most I can in every way possible."
Jorge’s speed, ability to draw walks and run down almost every airborne baseball in the vicinity of center field are key elements in giving the Dragons chances to win.
“When he is locked in he’s got that loud, goofy laugh, he’s got that contagious energy,” Harrison Jr. said. “A lot of his influence in the game goes beyond what he actually does. He’s just starting to find this groove. He can be a game changer.”
The early 6-0 deficit on Tuesday made Harrison Jr. glad to see Jose Montero (2-0) on the mound Wednesday. He didn’t allow any runs in his first two starts. After the home run, he allowed only a walk and retired the final nine batters he faced.
“Montero did a good job just not losing his cool,” Harrison Jr. said. “He’s done that a few times this year, where he just keeps competing and he’s good for us.”
The Dragons ended an 11-inning scoreless streak to start the season by the Whitecaps’ Kenny Serwa, who left with two outs in the second inning and trailing 3-2. Serwa pitched his final college season at Dayton and has since developed a knuckleball as a secondary pitch he throws at an unheard of 82 mph.
“It’s definitely different as an off speed pitch,” Harrison Jr. said. “He does a pretty good job controlling it.”
Another key moment that could have led to another big early deficit for the Dragons came in the first inning. With runners at first and second, Callahan smoked a grounder to the right side.
But Peyton Stovall, who has been playing first and second base, made a diving stop to his left to end the inning. Just before the ball was hit, Harrison Jr. motioned Stovall to move two steps to his left.
“He’s a gamer, and I want to see him having fun,” Harrison Jr. said. “He dove for that ball, got dirty. It was just good to see him get one of those plays and get his feet under him. That was a big play, too.”
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