Gnats Game Notes: Thursday, July 15 Vs. Greenville
July 15, 2010 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (8-12/50-40, 7th, Southern) vs. Greenville Drive (14-6/50-40, 1st, Southern)
Game #91 - Home Game #46 - Thursday - 7:05
RHP Taylor Whitenton (4-4, 3.66) vs. RHP Ryan Pressly (3-5, 4.14)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats look snap a three game losing streak in game two of their five-game series against the Greenville Drive, the Boston Red Sox SAL affiliate.
Last Night: Greenville's Vladimir Frias broke a 2-2 tie with a solo home run off Savannah reliever Brandon Sage leading off the top of the eighth inning as Greenville won 4-2. Gnats' starter Darin Gorski threw a season-high seven innings and tied his season-high with seven strikeouts. The Gnats allowed two unearned runs in a game in which they lost by two runs.
Now Pitching: Taylor Whitenton will make his ninth start of the year this evening. He earned the win in his last start for holding Asheville to three runs on nine hits in six innings in a game Savannah won 11-6. Whitenton's 40 walks are fifth-most in the SAL. In his three starts since returning to the rotation over the All-Star Break, Whitenton is 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA (7 ER/16 IP) and 13 strikeouts against nine walks. For the year, Whitenton has struck out 9.1 batters per nine innings, but walked 5.4 batters per nine. The Gnats are 3-5 when Whitenton starts and have supported him with 4.13 runs per game, the third-lowest support of any Gnats starter. Whitenton threw five scoreless innings over four games in the Gulf Coast League in 2009, 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.
Snap Goes the Streak: Jefry Marte was 0-4 with two strikeouts last night snapping his hitting streak at eight straight games. RJ Harris was 0-3 with two strikeouts and a walk, snapping his hitting streak at seven straight games.
Top Five: The top five hitters in the Savannah lineup last night were a combined 2-17 (.117) with three walks and six strikeouts. Cesar Puello had both of the hits. Puello is hitting .301 (22 H/73 AB) since the All-Star Break.
Familiar Pattern: In each of their last five losses, the Gnats have held a lead in the sixth inning or later.
Two Bad: The Gnats fell to 4-8 in two run games, 3-6 at home and 1-2 on the road. The Gnats are 12-14 and 5-8 at home, when they commit two or more errors as they did last night.
Pitching and Defense: The Gnats lead the SAL with a 2.65 ERA and 774 strikeouts. Savannah has allowed just 310 runs overall, 60 fewer than Hickory (370), which has allowed the second-fewest runs in the league. The Gnats have allowed 65 unearned runs. Asheville leads the league in unearned runs allowed with only 45 all year. Only five teams in the SAL have allowed fewer than 400 runs.
Alumni Update: LHP Robert Carson, last year's Sterling Award Winner as the Savannah Sand Gnats' MVP was promoted from the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets to the AA Binghamton Mets today. After May 1, in his last 13 appearances with St. Lucie, Carson was 7-2 with a 3.21 ERA and 54 strikeouts against 19 walks in 70 innings. Overall, he was 7-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 86.1 innings. Carson was 8-10 for Savannah in 2009 with a 3.21 ERA and 90 strikeouts and 45 walks in 131.2 innings.
Vs. Greenville: The Gnats are 2-4 against the Drive this year. Tonight is game two of the second and final five-game series between the two teams this season. Savannah is 18-20 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. The series return to Savannah for game two on Friday, September 10 and game three, if necessary, on Saturday, September 11.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 15, 2010
- Legends Edge Hickory, 3-2; Martinez Promoted to Double-A - Lexington Legends
- Gnats Stall Drive with 3-2 Win Thursday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Jiwan James Breaks Claws Hit Streak Record in 6-5 Win - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Intimidators Lose in Extras 6-5 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- 'Dads Ninth Inning Rally Falls Just Short - Hickory Crawdads
- Drive Come up Just Short Versus Sand Gnats, 3-2 - Greenville Drive
- Santana's So Smooth, Doubles R'Dogs by Greenjackets 6-5 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Bullpen Leaky in 6-5 Augusta Loss - Augusta GreenJackets
- Shorebirds Win Fourth Straight, 3-0 Over West Virginia - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Nationals Starter Scott Olsen to Appear in Hagerstown - Hagerstown Suns
- Gnats Game Notes: Thursday, July 15 Vs. Greenville - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Chick-fil-A Night, July 17th at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Crawdads Featured in ESPN Commercial - Hickory Crawdads
- Kannapolis Intimidators Host Blood Drive - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Shorebirds Game Notes - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Schlehuber Sent to Myrtle Beach - Rome Emperors
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