Dayton Dragons: McCrystal stars in second straight walk-off win

The beauty of winning the first-half division title means the Dayton Dragons have Midwest League playoff games to look forward to no matter what happens the rest of the season.

But the Dragons aren’t coasting.

They will use their final 40 regular-season games just like the two that started this week’s series against Cedar Rapids with a jolt of energy: To prepare for the unknowns of the opening best-of-three series against the second-half East Division champion.

On Tuesday, July 21, they came from behind three times to win in 10 innings. On Wednesday, July 22, they rekindled the late-inning magic of the night before.

Tuesday’s walk-off sacrifice fly hero Jacob Friend launched a two-run homer in the eighth inning to tie the score. In the ninth, catcher Ryan McCrystal assumed the role of walk-off hero. He lined a single to right to score Mason Neville from second base for a 6-5 victory.

“It’s good to see those guys coming back,” Dragons manager Julio Morillo said. “They’ve been facing a lot of adversity lately and just keep fighting and putting good at-bats together and making things happen. That’s good to see because that’s what we’ll be facing probably in the playoffs when you cannot give up, especially in a three-game series. You gotta find a way how to come from behind and win.”

In the ninth, Neville pinch hit and drew a leadoff walk. He moved to second on a ground out. The Kernels intentionally walked Peyton Stovall, and McCrystal made them pay.

McCrystal put his catching knowledge to work at the plate to hit a slider — a pitch he had seen a lot of — for the winner. In a 2-1 count the most common pitch would be a fastball, McCrystal said. But …

“There’s no way they were going heater in and not get a strike,” he said. “They were trying to get me to get myself out, so I sat on a slider there on that pitch, and I’m glad I didn’t try and do too much with it.”

Well, 107 mph off the bat was plenty.

McCrystal started the season with the Dragons before moving up to AA Chattanooga to get more playing time. Alfredo Duno, the Reds’ No. 1 prospect, was the starting catcher then. When Duno was promoted to AA at the end of the first half, McCrystal came back to Dayton for the same reason. He is hitting .292 since returning to Dayton.

“You got a guy like Alfredo Duno in front of you it’s not really that surprising,” McCrystal said. “I’ve been lucky enough to play with Duno for two years now, and I love that kid to death, and a lot more than a baseball player. It’s a good thing if they want me to catch a lot more, that they see a lot of value in me like that. God’s got a very specific reason that I’m here, and it’s not my job to try and make it happen. It’s my job to let it happen and develop in front of me and become a better version of who I am.”

As the Dragons prep for the playoffs, some position players are learning to play every day. Friend is one who has grown into an everyday role this season. He joined the Dragons on June 2 and has been a regular, hitting eight home runs.

“It’s fun watching that kid hit,” McCrystal said. “He’s always had so much talent and ability, and last year it just didn’t go his way. It’s hard to hit when you don’t play very often, and it’s always been in there. This is the kind of team he needs to feel free, the kind of guys he needs to have around him where like he can be one of the mainstays in the lineup and show what he can do.”

The Dragons (50-40, 11-13 second half) got a solid four-inning start from J.P. Ortiz, making his fourth start since spending over a month on the injured list. He allowed two runs on five hits and three walks.

Jacob Edwards powered through three innings, allowing three runs, including a two-run homer to Jose Salas in the seventh off the right field foul-pole screen for a 5-2 Kernels lead. Then Stephen Quigley (5-2) pitched the final two innings.

Shortstop Julio Carerras continued to impress in the field and at the plate since joining the team in the second half. He hit a solo homer, his second, in the first inning, and he led off the eighth with a single to set up Friend’s tying homer.

And the table was set for another walk-off and for McCrystal to continue to hit the way he’s being taught by hitting coach Troy Gingrich.

“Troy’s done a great job with me on trying not to hit homers,” McCrystal said. “I don’t have as many as I want, but I know the power’s in there. I’m just really happy that I’m finally ready to be a hitter again and not try and hit all these home runs. Trying to be myself.”