Dunn won player of the month awards for April in the Midwest League and the Reds’ minor-league system. But like all heroes, not every day is a winner. On a 12-game road trip the past two weeks, Dunn batted .174. Manager Bryan LaHair gave him Tuesday off.
Still, there’s no one the Dragons wanted at the plate more in the bottom of the ninth inning, down one run with one out and the bases loaded than their leadoff hitter.
“He’s the guy right now, he’s a tough out, he’s competitive,” LaHair said. “And he’s not scared of the moment.”
Dunn fouled off the first pitch. He took the second one for a strike. Fort Wayne reliever Chris Lincoln wanted Dunn to chase and strike out on a breaking pitch just off the plate, but Dunn wasn’t fooled and reached out and lined a hard single the opposite way to right field. Mat Nelson scored easily from third and Justice Thompson slid in with the winning run for a 7-6 victory and the Dragons’ first walk-off one this season.
The supporting cast made the final act possible in a game in which the Dragons once trailed 6-1. Nelson bounced a single down the right-field line to start the inning. Thompson walked and Michael Trautwein was hit by a pitch.
“Nothing like a walk-off victory,” Dunn said. “Just to be able to trust my teammates, flick and fight right there with two strikes, and JT was able to get the winning run with his speed and all the guys before that giving me a chance to even be in that opportunity.”
LaHair had a great view from the third-base coaching box.
“That was an incredible piece of hitting right there,” he said. “He had some tough pitches on him early, and for him to be able to recognize and just use his hands in that situation to do a job, it couldn’t have been better executed. So I’m really happy for him.”
Dunn’s hit wasn’t deep. Tincaps right fielder Justin Farmer charged the hit hard and came up throwing. But Thompson was sliding head first across the plate as the ball arrived.
“I knew I was wheels up once he hit the ball and I seen it get through,” Thompson said. “It wasn’t a doubt in my mind I was going to get there for him.”
LaHair didn’t think twice about sending Thompson home.
“It was never a doubt in my mind,” LaHair said. “Obviously it might not have been the perfect location where the right fielder was, but in that moment we still had one more shot with Arroyo coming up. I gotta take a shot there.”
The team win had a lot of the culture in it that LaHair likes. Despite falling behind 6-1 in the middle innings, his team kept at it. After allowing two runs in the sixth, Owen Holt pitched a scoreless seventh. Jake Gozzo followed with two more scoreless innings and a strikeout to end the ninth after an error complicated the inning.
After Edwin Arroyo singled in a run to start a three-run sixth, Austin Callahan and Austin Hendrick each drove in a run when they grounded out on 0-2 pitches. For a team that leads the Midwest League in strikeouts, those were crucial contacts to cut the deficit to 6-4. Nelson homered in the seventh to make it 6-5.
“We’re trying to play for each other,” LaHair said. “Situational hitting is important for us, moving runners is important for us, getting runners in is important for us. They played for the team in that at-bat right there.”
The energy after two tough losses, the late-game fight to play hard no matter the odds, and the consistent day-to-day workmanlike approach are traits LaHair loves about this year’s team.
“When we win means it means something and when we lose it hurts,” he said. “So our mindset is to continue to work regardless of the situation, and I know I say that a lot. That’s just how we do things here. And that’s why you see these guys sticking together and not getting down.”
More nights like this one would help the Dragons (16-20) move toward a winning record. They won a one-run game for only the second time against 11 losses. The win was their biggest comeback victory of the season.
“There’s nothing nothing worse than a loss and sitting in the dugout afterwards and contemplating what as a team we could have done to win,” Dunn said. “But you just come back the next day, you keep working, you keep grinding and do what you can that day to find a victory. And today we were able to come from behind.”
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