Dayton Dragons: Blanchard, Romano combine for shutout; Duno hits 1st HR
Apr. 11—Dayton Dragons catcher Alfredo Duno said the right words, made the right calls, pushed the right buttons.
But after nine innings — accomplished in a crisp two hours — Duno wasn't sure what to say about pitchers Beau Blanchard and Jimmy Romano.
"I have no word," Duno said and smiled. "Blanchard was amazing today and Romano too. It was a perfect game for me."
Blanchard started and pitched six innings. Romano pitched the final three. Together they dazzled in the bright afternoon sun on Saturday, April 11 at Day Air Ballpark, combining on a four-hit shutout to carry the Dragons to a 5-0 victory over Lake County.
Blanchard (1-0) made it to Dayton the hard way. After his college career finished at Louisiana Monroe, he wasn't drafted. A year later, in May of 2025, the Reds signed him and sent him to Low-A Daytona. He finished with a strong second half.
His first start for Dayton in last week's season opener didn't go well for him, allowing five runs in 4 2/3 innings. But on Saturday he was a different pitcher. He allowed four hits, struck out five and got 10 of his 18 outs on fly balls and popups.
"I had to overcome my last outing," he said. "I just wanted to come in today and give my team a chance to win, save the bullpen and execute pitches. Everything was feeling good, fastball, slider, cutter, changeup everything."
The outs through the air are part of Blanchard's M.O., influenced by his rising fastball.
"I'm just so much a contact guy starting to become more of a put-away strikeout guy, but I'm fine with the fly ball," he said.
Romano watched Blanchard from the bullpen, knowing his time on the mound was coming. He didn't allow a baserunner in three innings and struck out three to earn his first save.
"He just went out and he attacked the strike zone early, forcing guys to swing early," Romano said. "It's contagious? And when you got a guy like Duno calling pitches back there, and he's a big target, you just want to go in and do the same things the previous guy did."
Manager Julio Morillo loved everything about the pitching performance and defensive plays by second baseman Alfredo Alcantara to get a force out at second and by third baseman Carter Graham to get a rundown out between second and third.
"The pitching was unbelievable," Morillo said. "They mixed their pitches. They attacked hitters with their best stuff. Alfredo did a really good job calling that game and managing the game with them. And we had no issues defensively."
Offensively, the Dragons didn't have to come from behind like they did in their first three wins. But they missed some chances to have the type of three- and four-run innings of the two previous nights. But they kept the pressure on, had productive outs and three extra-base hits.
Lake County starter Rafe Schlesinger hit Kien Vu to start the game, walked Carlos Sanchez and allowed an infield hit to Duno. John Michael Faile's fielder's choice grounder scored Vu for a 1-0 lead. But two strikeouts followed.
Graham was hit by a pitch to start the second. He scored with one out with the bases loaded on a Sanchez fielder's choice grounder for a 2-0 lead.
But Duno and Graham gave the pitchers room for error in the fifth. Duno led off with his first homer, turning on an inside pitch and launching it high and deep down the left-field line. Graham hit an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.
"Feels great," Duno said. "Hopefully I get some more."
Sanchez, who had three hits Friday, doubled home the final run in the eighth, scoring Johnny Ascanio from first on a hit that was cut off deep in the right-center field gap. Maybe the run didn't affect the result, but it demonstrated the aggressive way the Dragons want to run to bases.
"I know Duno is coming to hit next, but with two outs it is a little bit different," Morillo said. "Nothing guarantees you that Duno will get a hit. At that point you got to be aggressive. And he didn't stop. He had his head down and just kept going."
The Dragons have won three straight to get to 4-3. After struggling with runners in scoring position, the Dragons are 15 for 42 for a .357 batting average in the past four games. The previous struggles did not deflate the clubhouse.
"We got a good energy, we got good vibes in the clubhouse, we're working, and that's what happens when you're hot," Duno said.
Morillo knows what the necessary approach is with young players trying to win and prove themselves to the Reds at the same time.
"The best thing we can do, regardless of how the season is going, is just going game by game and play our best game that day," he said. "I think if collectively we can do that and not get too excited when things are going good or going too negative when things are not going as good, we're going to find a balance."
Sunday: Nestor Lorant returns to the mound in Dayton where he started 23 games last year and produced a 2-10 record and 5.79 ERA. He allowed only one run and four hits in 4 1/3 innings in his first start at Lansing. He was the Reds' minor-league pitcher of the year in 2023 at Daytona with an 8-3 record and 1.44 ERA.
