Orlando Arcia remained hot as he extended his hitting streak and Carson Spiers struck out nine batters for Louisville. Damian Ruiz had two hits and scored a run for Dayton but it wasn’t enough as the Dragons season ended with a loss in the Midwest League championship series.
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The Louisville Bats lost 5-3. Box Score
- Edwin Arroyo went 1-4.
- Orlando Arcia went 3-4 with a walk, double, run, and an RBI.
- Noelvi Marte went 1-3 with a steal (10) and an RBI.
- Michael Chavis went 2-4 with a home run (25).
- Michael Trautwein went 1-3 with a walk.
- Leo Balcazar went 1-3 with a walk.
- Will Benson went 1-4.
- Dominic Pitelli went 1-3 with a run.
- Carson Spiers allowed a run while striking out nine in 6.0 innings.
Game Notes
Michael Chavis has homered three times in his last six games. His 25 home runs tie him with Ruben Ibarra for 3rd in the farm system. Carter Graham hit 29 and Hector Rodriguez had 27 before his promotion to Cincinnati.
Orlando Arcia started out his time with the Bats slowly, going 3-24 in his first seven games – though his three hits were two home runs and a double. But since then he’s run off a 5-game hitting streak where he’s gone 11-19 with two walks, one strikeout, and six runs batted in.
After a tough first game back with Louisville after missing the entire season, Carson Spiers has been dominant in the three starts since. He’s thrown 16.0 innings and allowed two runs while walking three batters and striking out 21.
Top Pitch Velocity: Chase Petty – 96.4 MPH (foul)
Top Exit Velocity: Noelvi Marte – 104.6 MPH (single)
Furthest Hit Baseball: Michael Chavis – 416 feet (home run)
The Dayton Dragons lost 2-1. Box Score
- Justin Lebron went 1-3.
- Kien Vu went 1-3.
- Johnny Ascanio went 1-3 with a walk.
- Tyson Lewis went 1-4.
- Damian Ruiz went 2-4 with a triple and a run.
- Kyle Henley went 1-2 with a walk, double, and an RBI.
- Kyle McCoy threw 4.0 shutout innings with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts.
- Jose Montero threw 2.0 perfect innings.
- Trent Hodgdon threw 1.1 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts.
Game Notes
This game was scoreless until the bottom of the 7th inning. Damian Ruiz tripled into left-center with one out and then scored on a double into right field by Kyle Henley. In the top of the 8th the River Bandits would get a leadoff double. He would come around to score on a 2-out home run by Blake Mitchell that hit the gate that separates Day Air Ballpark from the road behind it – an absolute moonshot of a home run. Quad Cities would take the lead there and they didn’t give it back as they held on for a 2-1 win and won the Midwest League championship.
Dayton scored one run in the two championship series games.
Top 25 Prospect Rundown
9/16 Game Preview
| Team | Record | Time (ET) | Probable | Box Score | Listen | Watch |
| Louisville | 64-79 | 6:35pm | Emanuel | Here | Here | Here |
| Chattanooga | 59-79 | Season | Complete | Here | Here | Here |
| Dayton | 67-63 | Season | Complete | Here | Here | Here |
| Daytona | 58-73 | Season | Complete | Here | Here | Here |
| ACL Reds | 35-24 | Season | Complete | Here | N/A | N/A |
| DSL Reds | 36-19 | Season | Complete | Here | N/A | N/A |
| DSL Rojos | 24-31 | Season | Complete | Here | N/A | N/A |
Just gonna drop in the comments section here that if you are subscribed to the Patreon newsletter that there’s a few extra tidbits in there and one very good one inside of the “organizational notes” section.
Good to see Carson Spiers pitching well. He will be needed next year. That is, if he is signed through next season. I am unsure of his contract status. I like him though. He really competes out there.
Because his late July 2025 elbow surgery forced him to miss the majority of the 2026 season, his minor league agreement was designed as a multi-year rehab pact to carry him into the start of the 2027 season.
Thanks Jon
I first noticed how well Spiers competes when he was in AA. He and Trautwein seemed especially well suited to each other. When he was going well in early 2024, before the shoulder issue, i thought Spiers and Nick Martinez were really good weapons as multi inning reliever/spot starters.
Yeah, that is exactly how I see him, Dave. And that has become a very important role in today’s game.
Was at that Dragons game last night. We just couldn’t lay off breaking stuff down in the zone and it costs us as we K’d with RISP time after time after time after time. Then when Henley was on 2B he waited to make sure the ball wasn’t caught and didn’t score on a single, that would have tied it up.
That Blake Mitchell HR was crushed. I was sitting in the RC grass and it went over the grass, past the concourse, off the top of the gate to the street and bounced back to the grass. One bad pitch ended the season.
That pitch down in the zone seems to be an organization issue. I wonder if the teams that are more successful year after year gave hitters that are disciplined enough to lay off that pitch.
One of the many issues I have with the game today are the seemingly simple, logical no-brainer approach to winning games.
First and foremost – you never, ever let the opponents best ( or hottest ) hitter beat you.
They had a runner at 3B, 2 out. Blake is a LHH with 23 HRs this season. With a 2-0 count, Blake chases a change up out of the zone. They come back with the exact same pitch – he literally throws it down the middle of the plate – game over.
I agree – in games where your season is not on the line, maybe you pitch to him there with a 1-0 lead. In a situation like last night, try to get him to keep chasing. If he doesn’t bite, so what? You now have a force out set up & a much less dangerous RH hitter at the plate where Diaz can utilize his slider.
That’s not to say the game was lost on this pitch – especially when the other team gift wraps the only run you score,
“Try to get him to keep chasing”
That’s probably what he was trying. Diaz isn’t exactly known for his ability to throw the ball where he wants to.