Gnats Game Notes: Tuesday, April 26 at Delmarva
April 26, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (7-10, 5th, Southern) vs. Delmarva Shorebirds (9-9, 5 th, Northern)
Game #18 -
Road Game #9 - Tuesday - 7:05
RHP Yohan Almonte (2-1, 3.50) vs. LHP Jacob Pettit (2-0, 3.12)
Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, Salisbury, MD
Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com
Tonight: The Gnats, SAL affiliate of the New York Mets, play game two of a five-game series in Delmarva against the Shorebirds, SAL affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. This is game two of a nine-game road trip to Delmarva and Lakewood. The Gnats are 2-6 on the road in 2011, all against Northern Division teams. Savannah's next home game is Thursday, May 5th.
Last Night: The Shorebirds used a pair of home runs to build a 6-0 lead after two innings on the way to a 7-3 win. SS Manny Machado's three-run blast was the big blow in a five-run second inning. The Gnats answered back with two home runs of their own, including a two-run jack from CF Rafael Fernandez and a solo shot from 3B Aderlin Rodriguez, but could not get closer than 6-3.
Now Pitching: Yohan Almonte will make his fourth start tonight for the Gnats. Almonte is coming off his lone loss of 2011 after yielding four runs, all earned, on six hits in six innings last Wednesday. He struck out three and walked one. Almonte is third in the SAL with the lowest walk rate among starting pitchers with 1 BB/9 IP (2 BB/18 IP). Almonte has thrown six innings in all three of his starts in 2011. 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-fewest unintentional walk/9 IP (1.41). He owned a sterling 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 2-1 when Almonte starts and have supported him with 3.00 runs per game.
Totally Tovar: In his last four games, SS/2B Wilfredo Tovar is 8-for-12 (.750) with two doubles, an RBI, four walks and four runs scored. He's up to .278/.339/.370 (AVG/OBP/SLG) in his 16 games of 2011. Entering play last Thursday night, he was hitting .167/.186/.238 so he's raised his batting average 111 points, his on-base percentage 153 points and his slugging 132 points.
Ad-ing Up: Last night, Aderlin Rodriguez became the first Gnat to hit home runs in back-to-back games in 2011. In his last five games, he is hitting .318 (7 H/22 AB) with two doubles, two homers and seven RBI.
Vs. Lefties: Tonight will be the fourth time this year Savannah has faced a left-handed starting pitcher. The Gnats are 2-1 versus lefties, 2-0 at home and 0-1 on the road.
Pitching In: The Gnats pitching staff is fourth in the SAL with 148 strikeouts The Gnats team ERA of 4.42 is ninth in the 14-team SAL.
Sleeping Lumber: The Gnats are last in the 14-team SAL with 63 runs scored in 17 games, (3.71 r/g). The team is hitting .236/.308/.371 (AVG/OBP/SLG), 13th in batting average, 12th in on-base percentage and 10th in slugging. However, the Gnats hitters have fanned 114 times, the second-fewest in the League.
Vs. Delmarva: Tonight will be the second of four games between the Gnats and Shorebirds in 2011. Last year, the teams split four games in Delmarva. In 2010, three of the four games were decided by one run, and two went to extra-innings.
Cooler Honeck: Sam Honeck is still leading the SAL with eight doubles, but is now 0-for-20 in his last five games.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 26, 2011
- Schoop Hits Walk Off Homer In 8-7 Win Over Savannah - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Birds Survive Gnats 8-7 in 11 Innings Tuesday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- A Wild One In Rome Sees Asheville Get Victory - Rome Emperors
- Power Snap Losing Streak, Beat Suns 8-5 - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Drive Suffer First Shutout in 11-0 Loss to Grasshoppers - Greenville Drive
- Kannapolis Builds Early Lead, Beats Legends 13-6 - Lexington Legends
- Intimidators Slug Out Season-High 13 Runs - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- BlueClaws Crush RiverDogs 11-1 Tuesday Night - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Jim Murphy Mashes Two Homers As âClaws Cut Down âDogs, 11-1 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Gnats Game Notes: Tuesday, April 26 at Delmarva - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Roof and 'Dads Slam GreenJackets, 9-1 - Hickory Crawdads
- Crawdads Pinch GreenJackets with Late Homers - Augusta GreenJackets
- Shorebirds Game Notes: Vs. Savannah - Delmarva Shorebirds
- BlueClaws to Host Cole Bros. Circus in July - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Power Shutout 3-0 by Suns - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Roller Reinstated from DL, Toussen Transferred to Staten Island - Charleston RiverDogs
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