Nestor Lorant left the mound after five innings in Tuesday’s home opener at Day Air Ballpark with a three-run lead. But as the night turned colder and colder, the Dragons froze.
Opportunities to score in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings came and went. That wouldn’t have mattered if the relief corps hadn’t surrendered six runs in the eighth inning.
Final score of the first home game of the Dragons’ 25th season: Fort Wayne 8, Dayton 4.
After losing the season opener 7-0 on Friday at West Michigan, the 0-4 Dragons lost twice in extra innings.
“It’s not like we’re playing terrible — we’ve been in every game,“ Dragons manager Vince Harrison Jr. said. ”We’ve had a chance to win the last three, and we haven’t closed the door. We haven’t responded back to being punched in the mouth. That’s something that’s going to come with experience."
Lorant joined the Dragons last season in late August. He posted a 1.44 ERA at Daytona to be named pitcher of the year in the Florida State League and the Reds’ minor league pitcher of the year.
Lorant didn’t disappoint in his first start. He allowed one run on three hits and struck out six.
“I love catching him every single time – it’s very easy,“ catcher Connor Burns said. ”And any number you put down with him you’re going to have a lot of success."
Lorant isn’t a fireballer, hitting low 90s with his fastball. But he’s deceptive. His fastball has carry and his changeup and curveball — especially the curveball on this night — get him strikeouts.
“At the end of the game I started throwing my changeup really good, too,” Lorant said. “So it helped me to finish my outing.”
Lorant and Burns worked a lot together in Daytona last summer.
“Every single one of them were just like this, very easy,” Burns said. “Lot of strikes, lot of strikeouts. He’s the real deal, and he’s an even better person.”
Lorant also feels the chemistry between the two.
“He’s a great catcher, and I just follow him,” Lorant said. “We just connect when I pitch. It’s like we both are pitching.”
Right fielder Ariel Almonte put Lorant in position to win the game with a three-run homer in the fifth inning to the deepest part of the ballpark, just above the yellow line in straightaway center.
But the 4-1 lead evaporated. The Tincaps scored a run on Jack Costello’s RBI single in the seventh. Then the Tincaps sent 10 batters to the plate in the eighth against Nick Sando and Jimmy Romano.
The six-run rally began with a walk, a triple by Braedon Karpathios and a double by Nerwilian Cedeno to tie the score. Center fielder Carlos Jorge was playing in on Cedeno’s fly ball to deep center that put him in a blender as he tried to chase it down, and the ball fell to the grass.
Brendan Durfee’s two-run double pushed the lead to 8-4. The Dragons bullpen has now allowed 24 runs in 20 1/3 innings and issued 26 walks.
“The thing that’s haunting us so far is the bottom of the lineup,” Harrison Jr. said of the relievers. “We’re giving out too many free passes that lead to runs. Each lineup has guys that that can beat you. And for us it hasn’t really been those guys.”
The Dragons loaded the bases in the eighth with two outs for Jorge. But Jorge didn’t bat. Harrison Jr. said he pulled Jorge to help him get over some soreness. Trey Faltine pinch hit and flew out to deep center to end the threat.
“That’s a good swing,“ Harrison Jr. said. ”He did a really good job being in that spot, putting together a good AB. It’s a game of inches sometimes."
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