Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, August 3 Vs. Augusta
Published on August 3, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
The tarp is off the field and we are ready for baseball tonight at Historic Grayson Stadium.
Savannah Sand Gnats (24-14/63-44, 1st, Southern) vs. Augusta GreenJackets (20-17/51-56, 3rd, Southern)
Game #108 - Home Game #56 - Wednesday - 7:05
RHP Ryan Fraser (6-7, 3.59) vs. RHP Shawn Sanford (8-6, 2.36)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats look for their second straight win in the third game of their four-game series against the Augusta GreenJackets, SAL affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The GreenJackets sit 3.5 games behind the Gnats in third place of the SAL Southern Division with 32 games to play in the second half. The Gnats take off for a weekend series in Charleston Friday and after an off day on Tuesday, open an eight-game home stand August 10.
Last Night: The Gnats picked up two extra-base hits from both Albert Cordero and Rafael Fernandez on their way to beating the GreenJackets 8-3.
Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser, who is tied for sixth in the SAL with 112.2 innings pitched, is scheduled to make his 18th Savannah start today. Fraser has struggled in his last three starts, yielding 13 runs, 12 earned, on 25 hits, 11 walks and eight strikeouts in his last 15.2 innings for a 6.89 ERA and a .379 opponents' batting average (25 hits/66 AB). 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 69 in 112.2 innings, a rate of 5.5 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. The Rays originally drafted Fraser out of Walker Valley HS in the 49th round in 2006, but he chose to attend Gulf Coast Community College and then Memphis. At Memphis, 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 8-9 when Fraser starts, and have supported him with 2.82 runs per game (48 runs/17 games), the lowest mark of any Savannah starter.
Cordero Coming On: After going 2-5 last night with a homer and a double last night, Albert Cordero is hitting .317/.352/.442 in 31 games in the second half with as many extra-base hits (8) as he had in 45 games in the first half when he hit .219/.248/.297 (AVG/OBP/SLG). He's dropped his strikeout rate from 22.7% (37 SO/163 total plate appearances) in the first half to 12.1% (15 SO/124 TPA) in the second half.
Chasing History: The Gnats, with 63 wins in 107 games, are on pace for 82 victories. The last time the Savannah franchise won as many as 80 games in a season was 1994, when the Savannah Cardinals finished 82-55 on their way to their second-straight SAL Championship. Last year at this point, through 107 games, the Gnats were 57-50 and 15-22 in the second half on their way to a record of 33-36 in the half and 75-64 for the year.
Rafael's Rebound: After hitting .126 (10-for-79) from June 29 through July 22, Rafael Fernandez has hit safely in eight of his last nine games going 13-for-39 (.333) with six doubles, a triple, 11 RBI, two walks and nine strikeouts, good enough for a .538 slugging percentage.
Playoff Scenario: The first-half champion Gnats will play the second-half winner in the best-of-three Southern Division series beginning on the road September 7 and returning to Savannah on September 9. The Gnats currently lead the second half standings by 3.0 games over the Greenville Drive and 3.5 games over the GreenJackets. 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 7.5 games better than the GreenJackets.
Strong Arms: The Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA (3.15), WHIP (1.21) and hits allowed (817). The Gnats are fifth in the SAL in strikeouts (843), 23 behind fourth-place Lakewood and are sixth in walks allowed (331).
Vs. Augusta: The Gnats are 13-6 against the GreenJackets, 7-2 at home and 6-4 on the road. This series concludes the season series between the two teams, the first division opponent to finish their season series with the Gnats.
South Atlantic League Stories from August 3, 2011
- Legends Top Kannapolis 5-1 Behind Quevedo - Lexington Legends
- Suns Feast on Crawdads, Steam Hickory 12-0 - Hagerstown Suns
- Suns Top Crawdads On Wednesday Night - Hickory Crawdads
- Lakewood Shuts out Delmarva 4-0 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Fraser and Hebert Combine on Four-Hit Shutout in 2-0 Win - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Three-Run Ninth Lifts Lakewood to 3-0 Win - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Sanchez Homers Twice, Dogs Fall to Asheville, 7-3 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Navarro, Avilo Fuel 1-0 Power Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Sanford Gem Not Enough; GreenJackets Blanked 2-0 - Augusta GreenJackets
- Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, August 3 Vs. Augusta - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Drive Hang on for 7-5 Win Versus Braves - Greenville Drive
- Late Rally Can't Lift Braves in Afternoon Defeat - Rome Emperors
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- GreenJackets, Knology Team up for Back-To-School - Augusta GreenJackets
- Intimidators to Raise Money for Local School Districts - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
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