Dayton Dragons News

From the Dayton Daily News

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Johnny Cueto gets moved back 1 day in the rotation, gets extra day of rest. Zach Ward will make the start today for him. Cueto will start Thursday.

Ward was a hard-throwing strikeout pitcher at Gardner-Webb University when he was selected in the third round of the draft last season. He spent 10 days with the rookie Billings team, but didn't pitch. His arm wasn't exactly sore, but it was "more of a dead arm, and they decided to shut me down," he said.

That's why this season is the first for Ward, and he is a bit surprised by the way he's being used.

Although he had always been a starter, Ward went to the Instructional League last fall and was told he probably would be converted into a reliever with the thought of some day making him a closer.

Yet when spring training ended and Jeff Stevens had to be left behind with a sore arm, Ward was moved into the starting rotation. He was taken out of the rotation when Stevens was ready to pitch (and after a couple of poor starts) but righted himself with a fine outing last Thursday, moving his record to 3-0 with a 3.89 ERA.

"I'm still getting lots of ground balls, but of the 15 earned runs I've given up, 10 were scored by guys I walked," he said. "That's my fault."

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