But that’s not what was behind his joy.
“Every time I get to pitch in a winning game for this team, it’s just so much fun,” he said. “I haven’t been on a winning team like this in who knows how long – 10 years probably.”
The Dragons (32-18, 66-50 overall) maintained their 2 1/2-game lead over West Michigan in the race for the Midwest League East Division second-half championship and playoff berth. The Whitecaps defeated first-half champion Lake County for the second straight night.
The Dragons reached seven straight wins for the first time since late in the 2022 season. Coming from behind has been a theme of the winning streak and they did it again, rallying from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2.
“That’s just a testament to this team, the work that we put in before the game and the fight that we have,” Murphy said. “The game’s not over until the third out of the ninth.”
Starter Ryan Cardona continued to give the Dragons quality starts and left after 5 2/3 innings trailing 2-1.
“Kudos to our pitcher,” manager Vince Harrison Jr. said. “Cardona’s been really good for us. It wasn’t exactly his best tonight, but he kept us in it.”
And the offense took advantage.
Leo Balcazar, who is hitting over .300 and has all four of his home runs over the past 24 games, had the big hits with a leadoff homer in the fourth, a tying infield single in the sixth and the go-ahead single in the eighth.
“He’s coming up here aggressive at the plate, seeing his pitches and doing a really good job of hitting them,” said Dragons third baseman Cam Collier.
To get to Balcazar’s RBI singles, it took a team effort. In the sixth, Ethan O’Donnell walked and promptly stole second. Then regular cleanup hitter Collier made a productive out and moved O’Donnell to third. Balcazar put the ball in play and O’Donnell scored to make it 2-2.
After the Kernels scored in the top of the eighth, the Dragons came right back. Jay Allen II bunted for a single, which was big in more than one way. First, the Dragons took advantage again of the Kernels’ inability to control the running game and Allen II stole second.
Second, Allen getting on base quickly meant the left-hander the Kernels were warming up wasn’t ready to face the left-handed hitting O’Donnell, who singled sharply to center to send Allen home with the tying run.
“It’s a big emphasis on next man up, everyone doing their job,” manager Vince Harrison Jr. said. “It doesn’t happen if Jay doesn’t start that inning.”
O’Donnell then broke for second on a pickoff throw to first and was safe at second with another stolen base. Then Collier did his job again and grounded out to second to move O’Donnell to third. And with the infield in, Balcazar bounced a single up the middle for the winning run.
“I’m just happy I was able to be put in a position to help my team and help the next guy win the game,” Collier said. “So just continue to go off what V-Hay (Harrison Jr.) says and just continue to win ballgames.”
The Dragons have 16 games left with a chance to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and pursue what would be the franchise’s first league championship since moving to Dayton in 2000.
Murphy loves his team’s chances because he says cliques do not exist on the team.
“Every guy loves each other, every guy wants to win for each other, nobody’s out for themselves,” he said. “Everybody’s bought in on winning a championship, and it’s just the best team that I’ve been a part of in a long time.”
About the Author