Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, August 10 Vs. Greenville

Published on August 10, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


*Savannah Sand Gnats (28-15/67-45, 1st, Southern) vs. Greenville Drive (25-18/63-50, 2nd, Southern)*

*Game #114 - **Home Game #58** - **Wednesday - 7:05** *

RHP Taylor Whitenton (4-2, 2.52) vs. RHP Kyle Stroup (3-5, 4.03)

*Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA ** *

*Radio:* News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com**

*Tonight: *The first-half champion Gnats, who currently hold the best record in the South Atlantic League, begin an eight-game home stand with 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.

* *

*Monday: *The RiverDogs scored five times in the seventh inning against reliever Michael Hebert to turn a 1-0 Gnats' lead into a 5-1 RiverDogs win to earn a split in the four-game series.

*Now Pitching:* RHP *Taylor Whitenton, *will make his third start since returning from a strained right forearm. In his last two starts, he has thrown six shutout innings yielding just six hits and a walk while striking out five. Whitenton's 2.71 ERA would be good enough for third in the SAL in ERA, but he will need 4.2 innings tonight to qualify for the League leader board tomorrow. Similarly, his opponents' batting average of .182 would be good enough to lead the league. Since June 11, in his last 40 innings over eight starts, he owns a 1.13 ERA (5 ER/40 IP) with 18 walks, 32 strikeouts and 20 hits for an opponents' batting average of .127 (20 H/140 AB). In 2010 with the Gnats, Whitenton walked 5.7 batters/9 IP (68 BB/108.1 IP). This year, he's walked 4.1 BB/9 (39 BB/85.2 IP). Last year with Savannah, Whitenton was 8-9 with a 4.57 ERA in 18 starts and eight relief appearances with the Gnats. He fanned 113 batters and walked 68, the second-most in the SAL, in 108.1 innings. In 2009, Whitenton threw five scoreless innings over four games in the Gulf Coast League, 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. The Gnats are 11-5 when Whitenton starts and have supported him with 3.63 runs per game.

* *

*Cordero Crushes:* *Albert Cordero* currently rides a nine-game hitting streak over which time he is hitting .514 (18-for-35) with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBI. After hitting .219/.248/.297 in 155 AB over 45 games in the first half, Cordero is hitting .359/.396/.500 in 142 AB in 37 games in the second half. His second half totals of 11 extra-base hits and seven walks have already exceeded his first half totals of eight and four respectively.

*Division Dominance: *The Gnats are 52-26 against their Southern Division rivals, 32-10 at home and 20-16 on the road. Savannah is 23-10 against the Southern Division in the second half.

*Simply the Best:* The Gnats at 67-46 hold the best record in the South Atlantic League, a game and a half ahead of the Northern Division's Hickory Crawdads. The Gnats' 40-17 record at home is also the best in the League. No other team has more than 36 wins at home in 2011.

* *

*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 2.5 games over the Greenville Drive, 3.0 over the Asheville Tourists and 3.5 games over the Augusta GreenJackets with 26 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 seven games better than the Asheville Tourists and eight in front of the GreenJackets.

* *

*Strong Arms:* The Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA (3.15), WHIP (1.21) and hits allowed (867). The Gnats are fifth in the SAL in strikeouts (886). The Gnats have allowed 39 fewer hits than second-best Hickory and 288 fewer than Asheville, which has given up the most in the SAL.

* *

*Vs. Greenville:* The Gnats are 6-6 against the Drive in 2011, 6-2 at home and 0-4 on the road. The Drive are the only Southern Division team against whom the Gnats do not have a winning record this year.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from August 10, 2011


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.

OurSports Central