For Sando, the bottom line is his pitching line, which has been stellar since he rejoined the Dragons in June after a demotion to Low-A Daytona.
Sando made another look-at-me case to the Reds on Sunday. He gave the last-place Dragons a chance to win with five innings and two runs. However, the Dragons’ fortunes changed after Sando left the game in a 7-5 loss to Lake County at Day Air Ballpark.
Sando began the season in Dayton as a reliever, but after six appearances and a 14.63 ERA, he went to Daytona to “work out the kinks.” There, he posted a 1.99 ERA in 10 relief appearances.
“There was some physical adjustments that really helped me,” he said. “Mentally, the confidence came from making those physical adjustments and having that reassurance.”
Sando returned to Dayton to be a starter on June 22. His first start lasted only 1 2/3 innings and he allowed four runs. Since that day, Sando has posted a 2.27 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance.
“It’s progressed pretty well,” Sando said of his summer journey. “I’m getting ahead in counts and executing my plan well. I’ve just been trying to do that and keep that going.”
Sando said he didn’t have his best stuff Sunday, but he worked ahead in the count enough to get lots of quick outs in the first three innings amid two hits and a walk. When he left the mound after the second inning, it was clear he wasn’t happy with himself.
“I just wasn’t executing the way I wanted to,” he said. “When I get ahead in counts and I control the count leverage, I’m really good. I just wasn’t doing that, so I was frustrated.”
In the fourth with two on and two out, Sando fell behind Juan Benjamin 2-0. Benjamin hit the next pitch for a two-run double to tie the score 2-2.
“He’s a different guy when he’s ahead in the count versus working behind,” Dragons manager Vince Harrison Jr. said. “His misses were small, and then he kind of lost it. But to not have his best stuff and to give us a chance and get through five and get two runs, that’s not a lot.”
Sunday was another opportunity for Sando to learn and show what kind of pitcher he believes he can be.
“I’m grateful to be here, grateful to have the opportunity to do this and do what I love for a living,” he said.
Sando gave the Dragons a chance to earn a series split, and the game started well for them. One-out singles by Carlos Jorge and Anthony Stephan set the table for Carlos Sanchez. He bounced the baseball past the third baseman to score two runs. The play was originally ruled a hit before being changed to an error.
The Captains held the Dragons scoreless on six hits over the next seven innings. The Captains took a 3-2 lead on the first of two solo homers by Ralphy Velazquez, who now leads the Midwest League with 17.
Velazquez, far from the Captains fastest runner, opened the eighth by beating out a routine grounder that third baseman Carter Graham held onto too long. That opened the door to two doubles and a single to push the lead to 6-2.
“We just gotta be sharper,” Harrison Jr. said of the way the eighth began. “One little mistake can change the whole game, and that changed the whole temperament the game.”
Velazquez’s second homer pushed the lead to 7-2. But the Dragons rallied in the bottom of the ninth against Tyler Naquin, the former Reds outfielder who is trying to get back to the majors as a relief pitcher.
Naquin loaded the bases with walks. Jorge followed with his third hit to cut the deficit to 7-3. The game almost ended on a double play, but a throwing error let two more runs in. But Naquin got Graham to ground out with Stephan at second base.
The Dragons (13-26 second half, 34-70 overall) head to Lansing (17-24) with its starting pitching in good shape. This past week the starters posted a 3.07 ERA.
“When your starters can get deeper in a game that takes less off your pen,” Harrison Jr. said. “It gives you a chance to save your pen and keep them fresh and be able to use them in more spots where you got a chance to win.”
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