Gnats Game Notes: Friday, August 19 at Greenville

Published on August 19, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (34-19/73-49, 1st, Southern) @ Greenville Drive (28-25/66-57, t-3rd, Southern)

Game #123 - Road Game #58 - Friday - 7:00

RHP Ryan Fraser (7-8, 3.43) vs. RHP Miguel Celestino (8-5, 4.10)

Fluor Field, Greenville, SC

Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com

Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats will play game two of a scheduled four-game series in Greenville against the second place Drive, SAL affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. After Sunday's game, the Gnats head to Rome for four games Monday-Thursday before beginning their final regular season home stand on Friday, August 26.

Last Night: The Gnats won twice, beating the Drive 3-1 in the finish of the suspended game from Savannah last Saturday, and 10-5 in the regularly scheduled game, which was shortened to seven innings.

Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser, who is ninth in the SAL in ERA (3.43) and eighth in innings pitched (126), is scheduled to make his 21st Savannah start today. Fraser has been solid in August, pitching to a 2.03 ERA (3 ER/13.1 IP) with eight walks and 11 strikeouts. At home, Fraser has a 3.14 ERA (23 ER/66 IP) compared to 3.75 (25 ER/60 IP) on the road. In part this is due to his home run rate which is 0.55 HR/9 IP (4 HR/66 IP) at home and 1.35 HR/9 IP (9 HR/60 IP) on the road. Last year with short-season Brooklyn, Fraser struck out 39 batters in 31.1 innings pitched, a rate of 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. This year, he's fanned 80 in 126 innings, a rate of 5.7 K/9. With the Cyclones last year, working exclusively out of the bullpen, he was 3-3 with a 1.44 ERA and 12 saves in 31.1 IP and allowed more walks (20) than hits (16). The Mets drafted Fraser in the 16th round of the 2010 draft out of Memphis where he led the Tigers with 93 strikeouts and 92 IP in 2010 on his way to three C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors and a Second Team All C-USA selection. In the classroom, he was a member of the C-USA All-Academic Team in 2010 and ran a 4.0 grade point average in high school. The Gnats are 9-11 when Fraser starts, and have supported him with 2.75 runs per game (55 runs/20 games), the lowest mark of any Savannah starter by three quarters of a run.

Top Five Gnats: At 73-49 with a .598 winning percentage, the Gnats have the best record in the South Atlantic League and the fifth-best record among all full-season teams in minor league baseball. Only four teams, led by the Padres' AA San Antonio affiliate at .672 (82-40) are playing better than .600 baseball.

Darrell's Doings: Darrell Ceciliani rides a seven game hitting streak into tonight's action. He's hit .393 over his streak (11-for-28) with three doubles, three RBI, three walks and five strikeouts. He's hit .322/.403/.390 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with four doubles and gong 5-for-5 stealing bases in 15 games in August.

Tied-Highs: The five runs scored and 11 batters sent to the plate by the Gnats in the fourth inning last night tied the team's season high in both categories.

Playoff Scenario: The Gnats will play the number two seed in the best-of-three Southern Division Championship series beginning on the road on Wednesday, September 7, returning to Savannah on Friday, September 9, for game two, with game three, if necessary, scheduled for Saturday, September 10. The number two seed will be the second half winner, or if the Gnats win the half, the team with the next best overall record. The Gnats currently lead the second half standings by 3.0 games over the Augusta GreenJackets, and 6.0 games over the Greenville Drive and the Asheville Tourists with 17 games to play in the half. In terms of overall record, the Greenville Drive are currently 4.0 games better than the GreenJackets and 6.5 in front of the Tourists.

Strong Arms: The Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA (3.16), WHIP (1.20) and fewest hits allowed (924). The Gnats are fifth in the SAL in strikeouts (951), and have allowed the sixth-fewest walks in the SAL (377), including none in 11 innings of pitching in yesterday's games.

Vs. Greenville: The Gnats are 10-7 against the Drive in 2011, 9-3 at home and 1-4 on the road. The Drive swept four games from the Gnats in Greenville at the end of the first half June 16-19, one of three road sweeps the Gnats have suffered in 2011.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 19, 2011


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