Game changer:

The Dragons’ hit- DAYTON — ting woes continued Satur- day at Fifth Third Field in a 7-3 loss to South Bend in 11 innings.

Dayton, which has lost five consecutive games, man- aged six hits compared to 16 by the Cubs. It’s the fourth time in the last seven games the Dragons have had six or fewer hits.

South Bend scored three runs in the first inning off Dayton starter Ty Boyles, who gave up four more hits over the next three innings before being removed.

It’ll be Boyles’ last appear- ance in Dayton, at least for a while. Boyles was informed early Saturday by the Reds that he is moving up to high-A Daytona. He leaves for Flor- ida today.

South Bend left 11 runners on base after taking its early lead. There were no scoring problems for the Cubs in the 11th inning, though, as Dayton reliever Dauri Moreta gave up four hits and four runs.

Austin Upshaw hit an RBI single to right to put South Bend ahead 4-3, and Kevonte Mitchell followed with a double to right that scored two more. Another run scored on a wild pitch.

Dragons tales:

Boyles had been excellent in his last three starts, including Monday’s 4-2 win over Fort Wayne. He couldn’t keep the streak of good outings going after a rough first inning Saturday. South Bend’s first two batters singled, then Upshaw

TODAY’S GAME

South Bend at Dayton, 7 p.m. WONE-AM (980), CW Ch. 26.1, Spectrum Ch. 13 and 1013, Direct TV and DISH Ch. 26 hit a three-run home run.

Boyles started the season at Daytona and was 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA before being demoted May 19. In his 10 games with the Dragons, he posted a 5-2 record and a 3.99 ERA.

The string of strong outings continued for Jesse Adams on Saturday. Adams pitched in the ninth and 10th innings and gave up one hit with two strikeouts. Over his last 14 games, he’s allowed just two runs in 25 innings.

Jose Siri has a 16-game hitting streak after Saturday. He hit a single on an infield grounder in the third inning.

Bruce Yari extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a solo home run to center field in the seventh.

The teams return to Fifth Third Field today at 2 p.m. for the third of a four-game series. Wennington Romero (3-6, 4.17 ERA) is slated to start for Dayton against South Bend’s Bryan Hudson (2-3, 4.21).

The Dragons will host the first of a best-of-three series against West Michigan on Sept. 6 and then travel to the Whitecaps on Sept. 7 and, if necessary, Sept. 8. All games have 7 p.m. scheduled starts.

On deck: Playoff times: