Gnats Game Notes: Thursday, June 2 Vs. Kannapolis
Published on June 2, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (29-23, 1st, Southern) vs. Kannapolis Intimidators (27-24, 3rd, Northern)
Game #53 - Home Game #26 - Thursday - 7:05
RHP Yohan Almonte (2-2, 4.05) vs. LHP Spencer Arroyo (2-3, 4.18)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first place Gnats, SAL affiliate of the New York Mets, try to make it five wins in a row in game two of their four-game series tonight against the Kannapolis Intimidators, SAL affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The Gnats have won the first four games on this seven-game home stand and 10 of 11 overall.
Last Night: Darrell Cecilian's two-run double capped a four-run Savannah second inning that propelled the Gnats to a 5-3 win. Taylor Whitentonheld the Intimidators to one run in five innings to pick up his third win of the year. Josh Edgin picked up five outs for his 10th save.
Now Pitching: Yohan Almonte is scheduled to make his seventh start of the year tonight for the Gnats. Almonte gave up three unearned runs in his last start in Augusta on Saturday night in his first appearance in 27 days. Almonte owns a K/BB ratio of 4.5 (18 K/4 BB). In 2010, Almonte led the New York-Penn League in ERA (1.91), IP (89.2) and WHIP (0.93), averaging nearly six innings per start. He had the second-lowest batting average against among starters at .207 and the third-lowest unintentional walk/9 IP (1.41) with a K/BB ratio of 4 (60 K/15 BB). The 21-year old Almonte has moved steadily through the Mets system advancing from the Dominican Summer League in 2008 to the Gulf Coast League and then the Appalachian League in 2009, to the New York Penn League in 2010 before joining the Gnats, his first full-season team, in 2011. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2007. The Gnats are 3-3 when Almonte starts and have supported him with 3.50 runs per game.
Good Times: The Gnats are six games over .500 for the first time in 2011. The team has won 10 of their last 11 games - a run that has taken them from half a game out of first place to 3.5 games up, their largest lead of the year. While winning 10 of 11 games, the Gnats have outscored their opponents 43-24 or 3.9 runs a game to 2.2. Since April 29, when Savannah was 7-14 and a season-high 5.5 games out of first, the Gnats are 22-9, and have picked up nine games in the standings.
Cory Crushing It: Cory Vaughn leads the Gnats in all three major rate categories: average (.332), on-base (.459) and slugging percentage (.473) and stolen bases (8). He is seventh in the SAL in average, second in on-base percentage and fourth in walks (31).
Shields' Slashes: Robbie Shields is tied for second in the League in doubles (17) and is tied for third in triples (4). Shields is second to Vaughn on the Gnats in average (.285), slugging percentage (.452), walks (21) and stolen bases (7).
Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL's best ERA (3.11) and WHIP (1.22). After 11 strikeouts last night, the Gnats are now tied for second in the League in strikeouts (451). Savannah is tied for having allowed the fourth-fewest walks (154) in the SAL. The Gnats are the only team in the top five in strikeouts who are also in the top five fewest walks allowed. Savannah has allowed three runs or fewer in 23 of their 29 wins in 2011 and have allowed five or fewer in every single one of their wins.
Hang with 'em Honeck: Sam Honeck was 2-3 last night with a pair of doubles. It was his fifth multi-hit game in his last 36 games. He had seven multi-hit games in his first 11 games of 2011 when he hit safely in 10 of 11 games.
Versus Kannapolis: This is the first and only series between the Gnats and Intimidators in 2011 and the only four games of the last 36 in the first half that the Gnats will play against a Northern Division opponent. The Gnats were 8-5 against Kannapolis in 2010, all at home.
South Atlantic League Stories from June 2, 2011
- Drive, Suns Slug It out for Second Straight Night - Greenville Drive
- Kvasnicka's Homer in Eighth Sends Legends to 3-1 Win - Lexington Legends
- Intimidators Overcome Gnats 7-4 Thursday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Rome Keeps Right on Raking, Tops Charleston, 9-4 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Crawdads Clip Shorebirds with 5-3 Win - Hickory Crawdads
- Greensboro Evens Series with 4-3 Win Over Lakewood - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Crawdads Drop Shorebirds 5-3 to Level Series - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Late Rally Comes Up Short in 4-3 Loss - Augusta GreenJackets
- Gnats Game Notes: Thursday, June 2 Vs. Kannapolis - Savannah Sand Gnats
- RiverDogs to Host Youth Baseball Camps - Charleston RiverDogs
- Lowcountry Baseball and Softball Standouts to be Recognized - Charleston RiverDogs
- Baseball Factory National Tryouts at Appalachian Power Park - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
