Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, August 24 at Rome

Published on August 24, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Savannah Sand Gnats (35-23/74-53, 1st, Southern) @ Rome Braves (28-29/53-74, 5th, Southern)

Game #128 - Road Game #63 - Wednesday - 1:00

RHP Ryan Fraser (7-9, 3.50) vs. RHP Aaron Northcraft (4-8, 3.66)

State Mutual Stadium, Rome, GA

Radio: sandgnats.com only

Today: The first-half champion Gnats, who own the South Atlantic League's best record at 74-53, play game three of a four-game series in Rome. The Gnats are 2-4 on their current eight-game road trip to Greenville and Rome. This weekend, the Gnats are scheduled to host the Charleston RiverDogs for five games Friday-Tuesday in the final home series of the regular season.

Last Night: The Braves got to starter Yohan Almonte to four runs, all earned, in six innings to defeat the Gnats 6-2. Blake Forsythe's two-run home run in the seventh inning scored Savannah's only runs. It was Forsythe's third home run in his last six games.

Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser, who is ninth in the SAL in ERA (3.50) and seventh in innings pitched (131), is scheduled to make his 22st Savannah start today. Fraser has allowed three earned runs in each of his last two outings. In August, he's pitched to a 2.95 ERA (6 ER/18.1 IP) in four starts with nine walks and 14 strikeouts. At home, Fraser has a 3.14 ERA (23 ER/66 IP) compared to 3.88 (28 ER/65 IP) on the road. In part this is due to his home run rate which is 0.55 HR/9 IP (4 HR/66 IP) at home and 1.24 HR/9 IP (9 HR/65 IP) on the road. Last year with short-season Brooklyn, Fraser struck out 39 batters in 31.1 innings pitched, a rate of 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. This year, he's fanned 83 in 131 innings, a rate of 5.7 K/9. With the Cyclones last year, working exclusively out of the bullpen, he was 3-3 with a 1.44 ERA and 12 saves in 31.1 IP and allowed more walks (20) than hits (16). The Mets drafted Fraser in the 16th round of the 2010 draft out of Memphis where he led the Tigers with 93 strikeouts and 92 IP in 2010 on his way to three C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors and a Second Team All C-USA selection. In the classroom, he was a member of the C-USA All-Academic Team in 2010 and ran a 4.0 grade point average in high school. The Gnats are 9-12 when Fraser starts, and have supported him with 2.76 runs per game (58 runs/21 games), the lowest mark of any Savannah starter.

Terrific Tovar: Wilfredo Tovar is the third-toughest player in the SAL to strikeout with one whiff every 10.16 plate appearances. After going 2-for-4 last night, Tovar is hitting .312/.389/.403 in 20 games in August. His five stolen bases and five extra-base hits in August already equal his 2011 monthly highs.

Three Down: The Gnats have dropped three straight games, their longest skid since losing four straight games to Augusta and West Virginia, July 16-20. It is the team's third losing streak of at least three games in the second half, matching their total from the first half.

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, returning to Savannah on Friday, September 9, for game two. Game three, if necessary, will be held 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 2.0 games over the Augusta GreenJackets, and 3.0 games over the Greenville Drive with 12 games to play in the half. In terms of overall record, the Greenville Drive are currently 6.0 games better than the GreenJackets with the two teams are scheduled for five games August 26-30. The Gnats are 15-6 against Augusta and 11-9 against Greenville.

Arms Race: The Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA (3.17), WHIP (1.21) and fewest hits allowed (973), and are the only team with fewer than 1,000 hits allowed. The Gnats are fifth in the SAL in strikeouts (977), and have allowed the sixth-fewest walks in the SAL (389). Three Gnats, Gonzalez Germen (3.40), Ryan Fraser (3.50) and Angel Cuan (3.50), are in the top 10 in the SAL in ERA. Taylor Whitenton's 2.70 ERA would be good enough to lead the SAL, but he is currently two innings short of qualifying for the league leader board. Gnats starters have a 3.41 ERA this year in 657 innings with 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, while Savannah relievers have a 2.84 ERA with 8.3 K/9.

Vs. Rome: The Gnats are 15-6 against the Braves this year, 8-3 at home and 7-3 on the road. Savannah's 15 wins against Rome are tied with their 15 victories against Augusta for their most against any single opponent this year.

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South Atlantic League Stories from August 24, 2011


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