The Loons briefly regained the lead in the top of the fourth on a sac fly to left field by Jake Gelof. The Dragons tied the game on a solo home run by Jorge in the fourth, his seventh homer of the year.
The Dragons took the lead for good in the fifth. Hector Rodriguez singled to start the inning and Stewart followed with a titanic home run to center that was estimated at 454 feet, making it one of the longest home runs hit anywhere in the Reds organization in 2024. The homer, Stewart’s sixth of the season, gave Dayton a 4-2 lead.
Dragons starting pitcher Javi Rivera provided his fifth straight strong performance. He worked six innings, allowing two runs on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Rivera left with a 4-2 lead.
Arij Fransen replaced Rivera to start the seventh and allowed an unearned run as Great Lakes pulled to within 4-3.
In the eighth, the first two Loons hitters reached, and Fransen was replaced by Luis Mey with runners at first and second and no outs. Mey worked out of trouble, protecting the lead, and then pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save. Featuring a fastball that reached 100-101 mph and a good slider, Mey did not allow a base runner in his two inning outing.
Rivera (5-2) became the first Dayton pitcher since Scott Moss in 2017 to win five straight starts (Moss won six straight that season).
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