Gnats Game Notes: Tuesday, August 16 Vs. Asheville

Published on August 16, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (31-18/70-48, 1st, Southern) vs. Asheville Tourists (27-23/58-61, 4th, Southern)

Game #120 - Home Game #64 - Tuesday - 7:05

LHP Angel Cuan (10-2, 3.18) vs. LHP Tyler Matzek (2-4, 6.25)

Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA

Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com

Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats play game three of a four-game series against the Asheville Tourists. The Gnats are 3-2 on their current eight-game home stand, and will need to finish Saturday's suspended game in Greenville on Thursday, Augusta 18.

Last Night: Rafael Fernandez lined a single into left field to score Darrell Ceciliani with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to give the Gnats a 3-2 win. Starter Taylor Whitenton threw six scoreless innings and now leads the SAL in ERA (2.81) and opponents' batting average (.187).

Now Pitching: LHP Angel Cuan, who is seventh in the SAL in ERA (3.18), is scheduled to make his 11th start since moving into the rotation after the All-Star Break. Cuan's WHIP of 1.15 is second in the SAL to Augusta's Shawn Sanford (1.06). He has thrown at least six innings in each of his last nine starts. 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 2.81 ERA in 57.2 innings. 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 8-2 when Cuan starts and have supported him with 4.20 runs per game (47 runs/10 games).

Back-to-Back Winning: With last night's win, their 70th of the season, the Gnats, who thanks to a rainout, will only play 139 games in 2011, clinched their second-straight winning season. It is the first time since 1993 and 1994 that the Savannah franchise has had back-to-back winning seasons. The Savannah Cardinals were 94-48 in 1993 and 82-55 in 1994.

Hot Like August: Albert Cordero is hitting .458/.491/.729 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with five doubles, a triple, two home runs and four walks against two strikeouts in 48 at-bats over 13 games in August... Wilfredo Tovar is hitting .304/.393/.370 with three doubles, seven walks and seven strikeouts in 46 at bats over 13 games.

And Not so Hot: Blake Forsythe is hitting .140/.260/.209 with one home run, seven walks and 20 strikeouts in 12 games in August.... Aderlin Rodriguez is hitting .163/.180/.184 with one double, one walk and ten strikeouts in his 13 games in August.

Playoff Scenario: The Gnats will play the number two seed in the best-of-three Southern Division Championship 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 number two seed will be the second half winner, or if the Gnats win the half, the team with the next best overall record. The Gnats currently lead the second half standings by 2.5 games over the Augusta GreenJackets, 4.0 games over the Greenville Drive and 4.5 games over the Asheville Tourists with 20 games to play in the half, plus the completion of Saturday's game for Savannah and Greenville. 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 5.5 games better than the GreenJackets and 7.0 in front of Asheville.

Strong Arms: The Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA (3.16), WHIP (1.21) and fewest hits allowed (899). The Gnats are fifth in the SAL in strikeouts (931), and have allowed the seventh-fewest walks in the SAL (374). The Tourists are last in ERA (5.32) and are tied for the third-most home runs (104) allowed, tied eighth in strikeouts (872) and have allowed the fifth-most walks (422).

Vs. Asheville: The Gnats are 3-2 against the Tourists this year, 2-1 on the road and 1-1 at home. The two teams are only scheduled for seven games total, the Gnats' fewest against any of their division opponents. Among their divisional opponents, Savannah is scheduled for 23 games against Rome, 21 games against Augusta, 20 against Greenville, 18 against Lexington, and 15 against Charleston this year.

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