Gnats Game Notes: Monday, July 5 Vs. Rome
Published on July 5, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (4-7/46-35, t-6th, Southern) vs. Rome Braves (5-6/35-45, t-4th, Southern)
Game #82 - Home Game #42 - Monday - 7:05
RHP Armando Rodriguez (5-5, 2.79) vs. LHP Brett DeVall (4-5, 3.92)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, sandgnats.com
Tonight: The Gnats look for their second win in a row in game two of a four game series against Rome on Dollar Monday.
Last Night: The Gnats beat the Rome Braves 1-0 behind seven shutout innings from John Church in his second professional start. Church struck out two, walked one and gave up just four hits. Brandon Sage and Michael Powers followed with 1-2-3 innings in the eighth and ninth innings to nail down the win. 3B Jet Butler drove home 1B Travis Ozga with a double in the bottom of the second for the game's only run.
Now Pitching: Armando Rodriguez is scheduled to make his team-leading 17th start for Savannah. Since May 1, Rodriguez is 4-2 with a 2.18 ERA (14 ER/57.2 IP) and has allowed opponents to hit just .190 (39 H/205 AB). For the year, Rodriguez's opponents' batting average of .205 is the second-best in the SAL. Rodriguez struck out a season-high nine batters in his last start in Greenville in a game in which he held the Drive to one run in seven innings that Savannah lost 2-1. The Gnats are 9-7 when Rodriguez throws and have supported him with 4.75 runs per game, the third-most among Savannah starters. With Kingsport a year ago, he was 3-1 with a 2.96 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 20 walks in 45.2 innings. Promoted to Savannah on August 27th, he finished the year with a dominant three-start performance in which he allowed just five hits in 16.2 innings and struck out 24. The Mets signed Rodriguez as a non-drafted free agent June 6, 2007.
Vs. Rome: The Gnats are 13-3 against Rome this year, 8-0 at home and 5-3 in Rome. The Gnats have outscored Rome by a score of 82-35 this season. The two teams are scheduled for 23 games this season. The Gnats and Braves split the season series 11-11 last year. The Gnats are 42-46 against Rome as a Mets affiliate.
The Wonderful World of OZ: After going 1-3 with a double and a run scored last night, 1B Travis Ozga has hit safely in six straight games and seven of his eight games as a Sand Gnat. In his last six games, Ozga is hitting .500 (9-for-18) with two doubles. Ozga played in one game for rookie-level Kingsport in the Appalachian League where he was 2-4 with a double and a home run on June 22.
Simply the Best and the Busiest: The Gnats' pitching staff leads the SAL in ERA (2.57), strikeouts (691), WHIP (1.13) and innings pitched (751.2). The top two teams in the league in strikeouts (the Gnats and the Hickory Crawdads) hold the top two places in ERA. The Gnats have thrown nine shutouts this year, tied with Augusta for the second-most in the SAL, one behind league-leading Hickory (10).
Close Calls: With their 1-0 win last night, the Gnats improved to 10-13 in one-run games. The Gnats are 8-4 at home in one-run games, but just 2-9 on the road.
Wow Wilfredo: Wilfredo Tovar was 0-2 with a walk last night. He's reached base safely in six straight games and 10 of his 11 games as a Gnat, while being held hitless only three times. He's hit .394/.474/.455 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with Savannah.
Scoring Summary: The Gnats have scored 28 runs in the 11 games in the second half, an average of 2.5 runs per game after averaging 4.7 runs per game (329 R/70 G) in the first half. The Gnats have been shut out four times in the first 11 games of the half and have been held off the scoreboard in a league-high 11 games this year.
Playoffs: By virtue of winning the first half, the Gnats will host game two of the SAL Southern Division Championship series on Friday, September 10 and game three, if necessary, on Saturday, September 11.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 5, 2010
- Braves Steal Seesaw Game from Gnats, 6-5 - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Suns Take Early Lead to Hold Off Power - Hagerstown Suns
- Four Homers Power Augusta to 10-2 Win over Legends - Lexington Legends
- RiverDogs Dust Off Asheville, 11-1 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Homer-Happy GreenJackets Win 10-2 in Lexington - Augusta GreenJackets
- Three Home Runs Blast Intimidators to 5-2 Win - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Crawdads Shut Out Shorebirds, 2-0 - Hickory Crawdads
- Crawdads Pitching Dominates in 2-0 Shutout - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Gnats Game Notes: Monday, July 5 Vs. Rome - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Shreve Shuts Down Hoppers, Claws Pull Away Late 7-2 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Shorebirds Game Notes - Delmarva Shorebirds
- RiverDogs To Feature A Tribute To Latin-American Baseball - Charleston RiverDogs
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