Gnats Game Notes: Monday, July 4th Vs. Rome - 6:05 Pm
Published on July 4, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (10-1/49-31, 1st, Southern) vs. Rome Braves (2-9/27-54, 7th, Southern)
Game #81 -Home Game #40 - Monday - 6:05
RHP Yohan Almonte (3-4, 3.27) vs. LHP Carlos Perez (4-7, 5.01)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats, winners of nine games in a row, begin a seven-game home stand against the Rome Braves and Greensboro Grasshoppers. Tonight is the Gnats' Independence Day Fireworks Spectacular.
Last Night: The Gnats extended their winning streak to nine straight games by beating Augusta 7-1, scoring four runs in the first inning and three runs in the third. Angel Cuan held the GreenJackets to one run in six innings to earn his sixth win.
Now Pitching: Yohan Almonte is scheduled to make his 13th start of the year today. Almonte held the Braves to two runs on three hits, including a pair of homers, in seven innings in his last start. In his 12 innings against the Braves this year, Almonte has held the Braves to three runs on seven hits for a 2.25 ERA and a .167 opponents batting average (7 H/42 AB) and six strikeouts against one walk. In 2010, Almonte led the New York-Penn League in ERA (1.91), IP (89.2) and WHIP (0.93), averaging nearly six innings per start. He had the second-lowest batting average against among New York-Penn League starters at .207 and the third-lowest unintentional walk/9 IP (1.41) with a K/BB ratio of 4 (60 K/15 BB). The Mets signed Almonte as a non-drafted free agent in 2007. The Gnats are 6-6 when Almonte starts and have supported him with 3.25 runs per game, the second-lowest run support among Gnats' starters.
Nine Up: The Gnats have set a new season-high with a nine-game winning streak. It is Savannah's longest winning streak as a Mets' affiliate, a relationship that began with the 2007 season. The Gnats have outscored Augusta and Rome, their only opponents on the streak, by a combined score of 53-21, or 5.9 runs to 2.3 runs per game. The Gnats have scored five runs or more in six of the nine games on their winning streak. The Gnats won eight games in a row from June 7-15, a streak that was more low-scoring as Savannah outscored their opponents, Asheville, Augusta and Rome by a combined score of 37-to-14 (4.63 r/g to 1.75 r/g).
Top Gnats: The Gnats' 49-31 overall record is the best among all SAL teams. The Gnats own the seventh best winning percentage (.613) among all full-season minor league baseball teams. San Antonio (AA-Padres) has the best record among the 120 full-season affiliates at .700 (56-24). ... Only nine full-season teams, including the Gnats, have winning percentages of .600 or better entering play on Monday... The Gnats are 18 games over .500 for the first time in 2011. The Gnats' high water mark in 2010 was 15 games over .500 at 41-26 on June 18.... Savannah leads the Asheville Tourists and Greenville Drive by three games in the second half Southern Division standings.
Hot: Sam Honeck has hit safely in five of his last six games, going 9-for-22 (.409) with three doubles,and a triple... Luis Nieves has hit safely in his last six games, with one hit in each contest going a combined 6-for-22 (.272) in that span... In his last four games, C Blake Forsythe is 5-for-12 (.417) with three doubles, a triple and four walks
Georgia's Best: The Gnats are a combined 25-5 (.833) against the other two SAL teams that call Georgia home, the Augusta GreenJackets and the Rome Braves. The Gnats are 24-26 against all other SAL opponents combined.
Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL's best ERA (3.13), nearly half a run (49 hundredths) better than second-place Hickory. The Gnats have allowed the fewest hits (618), 13 fewer than next closest Hickory, and 209 hits fewer than Asheville, who have given up 827 hits, the most in the SAL.
Vs. Rome: The Gnats are 13-3 against Rome in 2011, 6-2 at home and 7-1 on the road.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 4, 2011
- Independence Day Walk-Off Win for BlueClaws - Hagerstown Suns
- BlueClaws Walk off 3-2 on July 4th - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Power Miscues Help Legends Get Comeback Win, 5-4 - Lexington Legends
- Greenville Pounds Asheville 7-3 - Asheville Tourists
- 5,225 Fans Pack L.P. Frans, 'Dads Top Delmarva, 9-2 - Hickory Crawdads
- Cordero Delivers 10th Straight Win in 10th Inning on Fourth - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Santiago Excellent as Augusta Downs Charleston, 5-2 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Crawdads Cruise to 9-2 Win Over Shorebirds - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Late Homers Provide Insurance in Santiago Gem - Augusta GreenJackets
- Gnats Game Notes: Monday, July 4th Vs. Rome - 6:05 Pm - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Jakob Dalfonso to DL - Rome Emperors
- Phillies RHP Brad Lidge Scheduled to Pitch Tonight for Lakewood - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Intimidators Gain Independence from Double Play Tyranny with 13-Inning Win - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
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