Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, August 25 Vs. Charleston
Published on August 25, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (24-33/66-61, 7th, Southern) Charleston RiverDogs (29-29/60-67, 5th, Southern)
Game #128 - Home Game #62 - Home Game #62
RHP Taylor Whitenton (8-6, 3.71) vs. RHP Brett Marshall (3-2, 2.90)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: News/Talk 630; sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first-half-champion Gnats host the Charleston RiverDogs for the first time at Historic Grayson Stadium in 2010. The Gnats and 'Dogs are scheduled for four games.
Last Night: The Gnats trailed 7-5 heading to the sixth, but erupted for 11 runs over the final four innings to blow out the Tourists 16-8 to avoid a sweep in Asheville. Savannah scored six runs in the ninth to put the game away. CF Matt den Dekker was 5-6 with three RBI and four runs scored. After starter Darin Gorski gave up seven runs in 3.2 innings, the Gnats bullpen held Asheville to one run in the game's final 5.1 innings.
Now Pitching: Taylor Whitenton will make his 16th start of the year this evening. Whitenton is coming off consecutive shutout outings and has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts. In those three starts, he has struck out 24 batters, walked eight, and given up just eight hits in 17.1 innings. Whitenton's 59 walks are tied for the fourth-most in the SAL. In his 10 starts since returning to the rotation over the All-Star Break, Whitenton is 5-4 with a 3.86 ERA (20 ER/46.2 IP) and 46 strikeouts against 28 walks. In two appearances versus the RiverDogs, one as a starter and one as a reliever, Whitenton has a 0.96 ERA and 14 strikeouts against three walks and seven hits in 9.1 IP. Last year, 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.
New Highs: Savannah set a new high with 19 hits last night. Twice this year, Savannah had 18 hits in a game, most recently in Charleston in a 10-2 win on Sunday, August 8th. ... At 3:38, last night was Savannah's longest nine-inning game this year.
More O: The Gnats tied a season-high with 16 runs, set last in Augusta on April 22 in a 16-4 win. ... The Gnats tied a season-high with a six run inning. The team's third such inning this year ... The 12 batters the Gnats sent to the plate in their six-run ninth also equaled a season-high ... The 14 runners Asheville left on base were the most by any Savannah opponent.
Den Dominant: Last night, Matt den Dekker became the third Gnat, alongside Juan Lagares and Pedro Zapata to collect five hits in a game and he became the first Gnat to score four runs in a game this year.
Vs. Charleston: The Gnats are 6-3 against the RiverDogs, all on the road, but the Gnats won the final four games of their last series in Charleston by a combined score of 25-10.
Still the Best: Despite allowing at least seven runs in each of the four games in Asheville and 32 in the four-game series, the Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA (3.02) and have allowed the fewest runs overall (485). The Gnats (1087) are nine behind Lakewood (1096) for the league lead in strikeouts. Savannah (68) has thrown the fewest wild pitches in the SAL; there are four teams with 71.
Playoff Chase: The Asheville Tourists lead the Greenville Drive by one game and the Augusta GreenJackets by four and a half games for first place in the Southern Division in the second half. The Drive and Tourists are off today. Greenville hosts Asheville in a four-game series this weekend.
The Best of the Mets: The Gnats, at 66 wins, have set a new high as a Mets affiliate. The Gnats finished 41-94 in 2007, 61-76 in 2008 and 65-72 last year.
Playoff Schedule: By virtue of winning the first half, the Gnats will have home-field advantage in the Southern Division Championship Series. The second half winner will host game one on Wednesday, September 8 before the series returns to Savannah for game two on Friday, September 10 and game three, if necessary, on Saturday, September 11.
South Atlantic League Stories from August 25, 2010
- Crawdads Take Series Opener Against BlueClaws, 5-3 - Hickory Crawdads
- Sloppy Play Leads to Loss - Rome Emperors
- RiverDogs Nearly Perfect in 8-0 Win Wednesday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Ciolli Leads Intimidators to 13-1 Rout - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Four-Run Eighth Drives Second Straight Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Suns Edged by Shorebirds 4-3 - Hagerstown Suns
- Ciolli Drives in 7 as Kannapolis Takes 13-1 Win Over Legends - Lexington Legends
- Crawdads Top Claws in First Meeting of Season, 5-3 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- 'Birds Squeeze Past Suns in Game One, 4-3 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- RiverDogs Raid Sand Gnats in Rain-Shortened Game, 8-0 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, August 25 Vs. Charleston - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Shorebirds Game Notes - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Labor Day Game Features Buck Night Throwback - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Davisson Brothers to Play at Park - Charleston Dirty Birds
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