Gnats Game Notes: Monday, August 15 Vs. Asheville - 7:05 Pm

August 15, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (30-18/69-48, 1st, Southern) vs. Asheville Tourists (27-22/58-60, t-3rd, Southern)

Game #119 - Home Game #63 - Monday - 7:05

RHP Taylor Whitenton (4-3, 3.00) vs. RHP Josh Slaats (7-1, 4.09)

Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA

Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com

Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats play game two of a four-game series against the Asheville Tourists. The Gnats are 2-2 on their current eight-game home stand, and will need to finish Saturday's suspended game in Greenville on Thursday, Augusta 18.

Last Night: Asheville Tourists' 2B Avery Barnes greeted reliever Brandon Sage with a tie-breaking two-run double in the top of the fourth to lead the Tourists past the Gnats 5-4. The Gnats had the tying run on base in each of the last four innings but hit into double plays to end the sixth, seventh and ninth innings.

Now Pitching: RHP Taylor Whitenton will make his 18th start of the year, looking to rebound from a 4.1 inning loss to Greenville his last time out in which he gave up six runs on a season-high seven hits. If Whitenton had enough innings to qualify (he's six short) his 3.00 ERA would be third in the SAL and his .192 batting average against would be the best in the League. Since June 11, in his last 44.1 innings over nine starts, he owns a 2.23 ERA (11 ER/44.1 IP) with 20 walks, 37 strikeouts and 27 hits for an opponents' batting average of .169 (27 H/160 AB). 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 (41 BB/90 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 11-6 when Whitenton starts and have supported him with 3.53 runs per game.

Roster Update: Monday, the Gnats added J.B. Brown from advanced-a St. Lucie. To clear space, INF Miguel Tejada was placed on the disabled list with a left ankle sprain, back-dated to August 11. The 22-year old Brown had hit .200/.229/.238 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with one double and one triple in 23 games with advanced-A St. Lucie this year. Brown, the Mets' 14th round pick in 2010 out of the University of the Pacific hit .308/.347/.453 with 12 doubles, four triples and three homers in 57 games for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2010.

One-run Wonders: Last night was a rare one-run loss at home for Savannah. The Gnats are 19-6 in one-run games at home and 22-16 in one-run games overall. The Gnats are 44-26 in games decided by two runs or fewer and 36-11 at home in such contests.

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 and returning to Savannah on Friday, September 9, 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 2.5 games over the Augusta GreenJackets, and 3.5 games over the Asheville Tourists and Greenville Drive with 21 games to play in the half, plus the completion of Saturday's game. If the Gnats win the second half, their first-round opponent will be the team with the next-best overall record where the Greenville Drive are currently six games better than the GreenJackets and six and a half in front of Asheville. Both the Drive and GreenJackets lost on Sunday.

Strong Arms: The Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA (3.17), WHIP (1.21) and fewest hits allowed (895). The Gnats are fifth in the SAL in strikeouts (922), and have allowed the seventh-fewest walks in the SAL (370). The Tourists are last in ERA (5.34) and have allowed the third-most home runs (104), and are eighth in strikeouts (870) and have allowed the fifth-most walks (420).

Vs. Asheville: The Gnats are 2-2 against the Tourists this year, 2-1 on the road and 0-1 at home. The Tourists have outscored the Gnats 20-15 in the teams' four games this year.



South Atlantic League Stories from August 15, 2011


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