MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -Clinton, IA – Right-hander Curtis Partch baffled Clinton hitters over 6.0 innings, and his bullpen continued the trend as the Dayton Dragons shut out the LumberKings, 1-0 Thursday night at Alliant Energy Field. The LumberKings have scored just a run over their last 27 innings and have lost five-straight games.

Partch (W, 5-7) scattered six hits, walked two and struck out three in his 16^th start of the season. Junior Martinez (H, 2) and closer Aguido Gonzalez (S, 10) kept the Kings off the board for the final 3.0 innings.

Equally sharp was Clinton right-hander Andres Esquibel. Making just his second career start and his first in the Midwest League, Esquibel worked free from jams in the first and fourth innings to post 4.0 scoreless frames. He allowed five hits and did not walk a batter, striking out one.

Left-hander Jose Jimenez came on afterwards and the Dragons seized their only opportunity of the game against him. Andrew Means reached on an infield single to shortstop Scott Savastano, moved to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a groundout by Carlos Mendez and scored as Jimenez (L, 4-2) spiked a wild pitch into the dirt.

The Kings avoided a bigger deficit thanks to outfield assists by Jake Shaffer and Denny Almonte. Shaffer threw out Kevin Coddington at the plate as he attempted to score on a base hit by Mike Konstanty in the sixth inning, and Almonte gunned down Jordan Wideman in an attempt to tag and score on a shallow fly ball to right in the seventh.

Still, the LumberKings saw their own offensive opportunities dry up. With the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth, Daniel Carroll grounded to second base. Shaffer led off the fifth with a single, but failed to score as Savastano grounded out and Kris Sanchez struck out. Walks to Travis Howell and Savastano also proved fruitless in the seventh and eighth innings.

The LumberKings (5-9) and Dragons (6-8) conclude the series tomorrow night at Alliant Energy Field, first pitch scheduled for 7:00 PM. Listen to the game on AM 1390 KCLN in Clinton or live on the web at www.kcln.com.

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