Gnats Game Notes: Friday, July 1 at Augusta

Published on July 1, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (7-1/46-31, 1st, Southern) @ Augusta GreenJackets (3-5/34-44, 4th, Southern)

Game #78 - Road Game #39 - Friday - 7:05

RHP Taylor Whitenton (4-1, 3.02) vs. RHP Taylor Rogers (6-7, 2.68)

Lake Olmstead Stadium, Augusta, GA

Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com

Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats, winners of six games in a row, begin a three-game series in Augusta, fresh off a four-game sweep of the Rome Braves. The Gnats return home for an Independence Day Fireworks Spectacular on Monday, July 4.

Last Night: Gnats' LF Joe Bonfe scored runs in the seventh and ninth innings to lead the Gnats to a 4-2 win over Rome. Ryan Fraser worked around nine base runners (five hits and four walks) in six innings to hold Rome to two runs to earn his fifth win of the year.

Now Pitching: RHP Taylor Whitenton, who is seventh in the SAL in ERA (3.02), is scheduled to make his 12th start of the year today. Whitenton leads the SAL in batting average against (.190). He started the All-Star Game for the Southern Division, and in one inning of work in the All-Star Game, gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits with a strikeout. Whitenton is 9th in the SAL in strikeouts (73), and has pitched the fewest innings of anyone in the top 10. In 2010 with the Gnats, Whitenton walked 5.7 batters/9 IP (68 BB/108.1 IP). This year, he's walked 4.1 BB/9 (29 BB/62.2 IP). Last year with Savannah, Whitenton was 8-9 with a 4.57 ERA in 18 starts and eight relief appearances with the Gnats. He fanned 113 batters and walked 68, the second-most in the SAL, in 108.1 innings. In 2009, Whitenton threw five scoreless innings over four games in the Gulf Coast League, striking out seven, walking five and yielding just one hit. The Mets drafted Whitenton in the 39th round of the 2009 draft out of Darton (GA) College. The Gnats are 8-3 when Whitenton starts and have supported him with 3.6 runs per game.

Bully for Bonfe: Joe Bonfe has hit safely in his last six games, going 9-for-19 (.473) in that time. Bonfe, who played in just 22 games before the All-Star Break, has played in the last seven straight contests for the Gnats and seven of eight in the second half.

Never Give Up: Yesterday, the Gnats scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, a common happening recently. The Gnats have taken the lead in the fifth inning or later in every single one of their seven second-half wins.

Alumni Update: Former Gnat RHP Chris Schwinden was selected as the AAA International League Player of the Week for June 20-26. For the week, Schwinden was 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA and 10 strikeouts against three walks. He has been selected to participate in the AAA All-Star game on the IL team. Schwinden was 9-6 with a 3.28 ERA for the Gnats in 21 games in 2009.

First Again: The Gnats are alone in first place and lead the Asheville Tourists and Greenville Drive by two games in the second half Southern Division standings. ... The Gnats' 46-31 record is the best among all SAL teams, half a game better than Hickory's 45-31.

Six Up: The Gnats have won six in a row from Augusta and Rome by a combined score of 35-18. The Gnats have scored five runs or more in four of the six games on their winning streak, which is their second-best of 2011.

As Long as it Takes: Last night's game took three hours and 12 minutes, the longest nine-inning Gnats game in 2011.

Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL's best ERA (3.24), 37 hundredths of a run better than second-place West Virginia. The Gnats have allowed the fewest hits (599), nine fewer than second-best Hickory.

Vs. Augusta: The Gnats are 9-2 against Augusta this year, 6-1 at home and 3-1 on the road. The Gnats and GreenJackets are in a stretch where they play each other on four out of six weekends.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from July 1, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central