Gnats Game Notes: Sunday, July 18 Vs. Greenville
Published on July 18, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (10-13/52-41, 7th, Southern) vs. Greenville Drive (15-8/51-42, 1st, Southern)
Game #94 - Home Game #49 - Sunday - 6:05
LHP Jimmy Fuller (7-2, 1.83) vs. LHP Manuel Rivera (2-7, 3.43)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats play the rubber game of their five-game against the Greenville Drive, the Boston Red Sox SAL affiliate. The Gnats are off Monday before embarking on a nine-game road trip to West Virginia and Lexington.
Last Night: The Drive scored four runs in the first three innings against Armando Rodriguez and then hung on to beat the Gnats 4-2. After scoring in the seventh inning to make the score 4-2, Savannah had the tying run at the plate in five at-bats in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but was 1-for-5 in those at bats.
Now Pitching: Jimmy Fuller will make his 17th start as a Gnat. He is third in the SAL with a 1.83 ERA, and trails only Robert Erlin of Hickory (1.66) among active SAL pitchers. He is 10th in the League with 86 strikeouts. The Gnats are 13-3 when Fuller starts, an .813 winning percentage, their best with any starting pitcher. Fuller lasted four innings in his last start, his first in 18 days, yielding one run on three hits. Fuller, one of six Gnats selected to the SAL Southern Division All-Star team, is the only one who returned to Savannah for the second half. He was an All-Star a year ago with Brooklyn in 2009, when he was 3-6 with a 2.86 ERA in 12 games, 11 of which were starts for the Cyclones. He fanned 67 and issued 15 walks for a sterling K/BB ratio of 4.67. Fuller was a DII All-American in 2008 at Southern Connecticut State University where he led DII in strikeouts with 145, averaging 13 whiffs per nine innings. He also had a DII record streak of 59 scoreless innings in 2008. The Mets drafted Fuller in the 21th round in 2008.
Marte Mashing: After his 3-4 game last night, Jefry Marte is hitting .328/.368/.594 in 16 games in July with a team-leading nine extra-base hits.
Puello's Progress: Cesar Puello was 2-4 and scored a run last night and has now hit safely in seven straight games - a span in which he's hitting .333 (9-for-27). At the conclusion of May, Puello was hitting .234/.316/.280 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with eight doubles in 47 games. Since June 1, he is hitting .306/.397/.373 with nine doubles in 38 games. In April and May, he struck out in 21% of his plate appearances, a rate that has dropped to 14% in June and July.
Armed and Dangerous: The Gnats lead the SAL with a 2.64 ERA and 795 strikeouts. Savannah has allowed just 319 runs overall, 59 fewer than Hickory (378), which has allowed the second-fewest runs in the league. Only four teams in the SAL have allowed fewer than 400 runs.
...But Scoring Helps Too: Last night, for the 41st time in 93 games, the Gnats scored three runs or fewer. Savannah is 10-31 when scoring three runs or fewer, 8-17 at home. The Gnats are 42-10 when scoring four or more.
Jet Plane: With his 1-4 Thursday night, infielder Jet Butler has now hit safely in his first seven games as a Gnat. The Mets drafted the 22-year old Butler in the 28th round of the June 2010 draft out of Mississippi State.
Vs. Greenville: The Gnats are 4-5 against the Drive this year. Tonight is game four of the second and final five-game series between the two teams this season. Savannah is 20-21 against the Drive since becoming a Mets affiliate before the 2007 season.
Playoffs: By virtue of winning the first half, the Gnats will have home-field advantage in the Southern Division Championship Series. The second half winner will host game one on Wednesday, September 8 before the series returns to Savannah for game two on Friday, September 10 and game three, if necessary, on Saturday, September 11.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 18, 2010
- Marte And Puello's Big Nights Can't Stop Drive In 8-4 Defeat Sunday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- 'Birds Fall Short in Extra-Innings Thriller - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Drive Roll Past Sand Gnats, 8-4, to Take Series - Greenville Drive
- Dominguez's Ninth-Inning Home Run Slugs Augusta to 3-1 Victory - Charleston RiverDogs
- Complete Games Spur Doubleheader Sweep, 4-1 and 4-0 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Dominguez Does It Again: Late Homer Lifts Jackets - Augusta GreenJackets
- Rienzo Cracks Claws, James' Hit Streak Ends in 4-0 Loss - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Complete Game for Brigham as Hickory Beats Legends 6-1 - Lexington Legends
- Suns Conquer Rome 7-2 - Hagerstown Suns
- Brigham Pitches Hickory to 6-1 Win Over Legends - Hickory Crawdads
- Gnats Game Notes: Sunday, July 18 Vs. Greenville - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Claws Drop Game One of a Doubleheader, 4-1 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Shorebirds Game Notes - Delmarva Shorebirds
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