Gnats Game Notes: Monday, September 6 Vs. Asheville

Published on September 6, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (32-36/74-64, 6th, Southern) vs. Asheville Tourists (40-29/69-69, 2nd, Southern)

Game #139 - Home Game #69 - Monday - 12:00

RHP Collin McHugh (6-8, 3.46) vs. RHP Juan Gonzalez (3-7, 4.62)

Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA

Radio: sandgnats.com only

Today: The first-half-champion Gnats finish the 2010 regular season today against the Asheville Tourists. The Gnats, warming up for their first playoff berth in 14 years, have won eight of their last ten games.

Playoffs: Savannah will begin the 2010 playoffs on Wednesday in Greenville against the Greenville Drive, before the series moves back to Savannah, for game two on Friday, September 10. Game three, if necessary, will be Saturday, September 11. The Gnats have never faced the Drive in the SAL playoffs.

Last Night: The Gnats eliminated the Tourists from playoff contention with a 5-1 win. Juan Torres drove home the go-ahead run with a single in the sixth inning to make the score 2-1, and brought home two insurance runs in the eighth for a 4-1 advantage. Starter Darin Gorksi struck out a career-high eight batters while earning his sixth win.

Now Pitching: Collin McHugh will make his 19th start of the year today. McHugh is 8th in the SAL in ERA at 3.46 and his 124 strikeouts are tied for eighth. He shutout the Greensboro Grasshoppers for six innings in his last start, yielding just three hits while striking out five without walking a batter. In his last six starts, McHugh is 3-1 with a .251 ERA (9 ER/32.1 IP) with 33 strikeouts and nine walks. In those starts, he's allowed an opponents' batting average of .238 (30 H/126 AB). The Gnats are 7-12 when McHugh starts and have supported him with 3.89 runs per game, the lowest of any Gnat pitcher who has made more than two starts. Last year, McHugh was 8-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 75 innings for the Brooklyn Cyclones in the New York-Penn League. McHugh was 13-9 with five saves in his career at Berry (GA) College and led the Southern States Athletic Conference in strikeout rate (9.05 K/9) in his junior year in 2008. The Mets drafted McHugh in the 18th round in 2008.

Robbie Rips: Robbie Shields has hit safely in seven straight games. He's hit .438 (14-for-32) with two doubles, two home runs, nine runs and eight RBI in his last seven.

Nice Nieves: Luis Nieves has hit safely in seven of his last eight games going .387 (12-for-31) in those seven games with three doubles, five runs scored and three RBI.

Homers for Torres: Juan Torres drove home three of the Gnats' five runs last night. He's hit safely in four of his last five games going 10-for-17 (.588) with three home runs and nine RBI. He's raised his average from .188 to .234. Before his home run on September 1, his last home run was June 26, 2008 in the Gulf Coast League. He hit a career-high five homers in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2007.

The Best of the Mets: The Gnats, at 74 wins, have set a new high as a Mets affiliate. The last time Savannah won as many as 74 games in a season was 2000, when the Gnats finished 74-65 as a Texas Rangers affiliate. A win today would give Savannah 75 wins, their most since going 82-55 in 1994 as a Cardinals affiliate.

Vs. Asheville: Savannah is 9-12 against Asheville, 5-7 at home and 4-5 on the road.

Playoff History: Savannah has won 10 SAL Championships, most recently, capturing the 1996 SAL Championship. Savannah won three titles in four years, emerging with the League title in 1993 and 1994. Savannah's first SAL Championship: 1906.

Vs. Greenville: The Gnats are 4-6 against Greenville, 2-3 at home and 2-3 on the road. The two teams played all 10 of their games in a 20-day span from June 29-July 18 this year. The Gnats have never played the Drive in the playoffs. Last year, the Drive swept Asheville 2-0 in the Southern Division Championship Series before falling to Lakewood 3-1 in the SAL Championship Series.

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South Atlantic League Stories from September 6, 2010


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