Gnats Game Notes: Thursday, June 11 Vs. Greenville

Published on August 11, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (28-17/67-47, 1st, Southern) vs. Greenville Drive (26-18/64-50, 2nd, Southern)

Game #115 - Home Game #59 - Thursday - 7:05

LHP Angel Cuan (9-2, 3.19) vs. RHP Brandon Workman (3-6, 3.92)

Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA

Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com

Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats play game two of an eight-game home stand and a four-game series against the Greenville Drive, SAL affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. If the season ended today, the Gnats would face the Drive in the first round of the SAL playoffs.

Last Night: Greenville C Christian Vazquez doubled three times and drove home five runs to lead the Drive to a 7-2 win over the Gnats. It just the third time in 58 games that the Gnats have lost by five runs or more at home.

Now Pitching: LHP Angel Cuan, who is sixth in the SAL in ERA, is scheduled to make his 10th start since moving into the rotation after the All-Star Break. Cuan's WHIP of 1.06 is second in the SAL. He has thrown at least six innings in eight of his nine starts. He tied persaon season-highs in his last start with seven hits, five runs and seven strikeouts in a 6-5 loss to Charleston. Cuan has walked just 1.03 batters per nine innings in 2011. As a reliever he had an ERA of 3.65 in 44.1 IP, but as a starter, he owns a 2.79 ERA in 51.2 innings. He had a K/BB ratio of 6.33 (40 K/6 BB) as a reliever, which he has improved to 7.8 (39 K/5 BB) as a starter. His walk rate as a reliever of 1.22 BB-IBB/9 IP was the fourth-best among SAL relievers. Last year, Cuan was second only to teammate Yohan Almonte in the New-York Penn League with a 2.03 ERA. He was fifth in the NYP in strikeouts (64) and fourth in innings pitched (79.2) and fewest baserunners/9 IP (9.94). Cuan went five innings or more in 13 of his 14 starts in Brooklyn in 2010. Cuan pitched for his native Panama in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The Gnats are 7-2 when Cuan starts and have supported him with 4.67 runs per game (42 runs/9 games).

Cordero Crushes: Albert Cordero currently rides a 10-game hitting streak over which time he is hitting .513/.545/.769 (20-for-39) with four doubles, two home runs, seven RBI and four walks. After hitting .219/.248/.297 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in 155 AB over 45 games in the first half, Cordero is hitting .363/.399/.507 in 146 AB in 38 games in the second half. His second half totals of 12 extra-base hits and seven walks have already exceeded his first half totals of eight and four respectively.

Vs. Greenville: In seven games versus the Drive this year, RF Rafael Fernandez is hitting .385 (10-for-26) with four doubles... Joe Bonfe is hitting .333 (9-for-27) with a double and a home run... Blake Forsythe is hitting .161 (5 H/31 AB) with five walks and 13 strikeouts in nine games... Wilfredo Tovar is hitting .170 (8 H/47 AB) with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

Home and Road: The Gnats are 40-18 at home where the pitching staff has a 2.44 ERA (144 R/531 IP) and have given up just .32 HR/9 IP (19 HR/531 IP). The Gnats are 27-29 on the road where the pitchers have a 3.99 ERA (213/480 IP) and have given up 0.96 HR/9 IP (51 HR/480 IP). At home Savannah has hit .241/.315/.330, hit 11 home runs, and scored 3.57 runs per game (443 runs/58 games) while their road tally is .251/.325/.382 with 42 home runs and scored 4.55 runs per game.

Playoff Scenario: The Gnats will play the second-half winner in the best-of-three Southern Division series beginning on the road on Wednesday, September 7 and returning to Savannah on Friday, September 9, with game three, if necessary, scheduled for Saturday, September 10. The Gnats currently lead the second half standings by 1.5 games over the Greenville Drive, 2.5 over the Augusta GreenJackets and 3.0 games over the Asheville Tourists with 25 games to play in the half. If the Gnats win the second half, their first-round opponent will be the team with the next-best overall record where the Greenville Drive are currently eight games better than the Tourists and GreenJackets.

Strong Arms: The Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA (3.18), WHIP (1.22) and hits allowed (875). The Gnats are fifth in the SAL in strikeouts (893). The Gnats have allowed 34 fewer hits than second-best Hickory and 286 fewer than Asheville, which has given up the most in the SAL.

Vs. Greenville: The Gnats are 6-7 against the Drive in 2011, 6-3 at home and 0-4 on the road. The Drive are the only Southern Division team against whom the Gnats have a losing record in 2011.

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