Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, July 13 at Lexington
Published on July 13, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Savannah Sand Gnats (13-5/52-35, 1st, Southern) @ Lexington Legends (6-12/41-47, 6th, Southern)
Game #88 & 89 - Road Game #42 & 43 - Wednesday - 5:05
RHP Taylor Whitenton (4-1, 2.69) vs. LHP Alex Sogard (1-3, 4.40)
RHP Gonzalez Germen (6-4, 3.83) vs. RHP Mike Foltynewicz (4-7, 4.37)
Whitaker Bank Ballpark, Lexington, KY
Radio: News/Talk 630 (beginning at 6:05 pm) and sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats begin a seven-game road trip and a four-game series against the Lexington Legends, SAL affiliate of the Houston Astros, with a doubleheader. The Gnats are 7-0 on the road in the second half and 21-20 for the year. Savannah is tied with the Hickory Crawdads, the first-half Northern Division champion, at 52-35 for the best record on in the SAL.
Last Night: The Gnats and Legends were postponed.
Now Pitching: RHP Taylor Whitenton, who is fourth in the SAL in ERA (2.69), is scheduled to make his 14th start of the year today. Whitenton leads the SAL in batting average against (.183), twenty points lower than West Virginia's Colton Cain. Whitenton is 10th in the SAL in strikeouts (81). In his last 28 innings over five starts, he owns a 0.96 ERA (3 ER/28 IP) with 16 walks, 21 strikeouts and 13 hits for an opponents' batting average of .131 (13 H/99 AB). In 2010 with the Gnats, Whitenton walked 5.7 batters/9 IP (68 BB/108.1 IP). This year, he's walked 4.3 BB/9 (35 BB/73.2 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 9-4 when Whitenton starts and have supported him with 3.5 runs per game.
Double-Dip: The Gnats have played two doubleheaders in 2011, getting swept on the road in West Virginia on April 10, in games two and three of the first half, and splitting at home with Augusta on June 24 in games one and two of the second half.
Forsythe Feeling It: C Blake Forsythe has hit in a personal-best six straight games. In his last eight games, he is 9-for-26 (.346) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and eight walks against five strikeouts for a .615 slugging percentage.
Vs Southpaws: The Gnats are scheduled to face two left-handed pitchers in the series against Lexington. Savannah is 18-6 against southpaws in 2011, 9-2 at home and 9-4 on the road.
Close Calls: Despite falling 3-1 on Sunday, the Gnats have been very successful in close games in 2011, going 33-16 in games decided by two runs or fewer, 31-15 at home and 7-10 on the road.
Walk This Way: The Gnats are sixth in the SAL in walks drawn (297). As a result, despite a virtual tie with Augusta for the lowest batting average (.242), the Gnats are 12th in on-base percentage (.322). As a Mets' affiliate, the Gnats have never finished higher than ninth in the SAL in walks, and were dead last in the then 16-team league in 2007 and 2008.
Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL's best ERA (3.11), 47 hundredths better than second-place Hagerstown. The Gnats are back to the top spot in fewest hits (672) allowed, 17 in front of Hickory (689) and 245 fewer than Asheville, which has allowed the most. The Gnats have the fifth-most strikeouts in the SAL (700).
Vs. Lexington: The Gnats are 2-3 against the Lexington Legends in 2011 after the teams squared off in April. The Legends are one of two teams, along with Greensboro this past weekend, to win a series from the Gnats at home. The Legends will make their second visit to Historic Grayson Stadium July 23-26 and the Gnats will finish the regular season in Lexington September 1-5.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 13, 2011
- Extra-Inning Rally Propels Drive to 7-6 Win - Greenville Drive
- Legends, Sand Gnats Split - Lexington Legends
- Lakewood Falls in Extra Innings on Wednesday - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Early Runs Lead Asheville Past Delmarva, 8-2 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Intimidators Hold On To Early Lead for 6-5 Win - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Crawdads Power Past West Virginia, 7-2 - Hickory Crawdads
- Early Runs Too Much for Power to Overcome - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Grasshoppers Bound Past RiverDogs, 11-6 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, July 13 at Lexington - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Game Two: Hagerstown at Augusta Postponed Due to Rain - Hagerstown Suns
- Rain, Winds Claim GreenJackets-Suns - Augusta GreenJackets
- Crawdads launch Social Media Month fundraiser! - Hickory Crawdads
- Legends to present 'Lexington's Got Talent' - Lexington Legends
- Staff ace moving to the Carolina League - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Chief Justice Jean Toal to Preside Over RiverDogs CLE Night July 21 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Shorebirds Game Notes - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Suns Blow Lead, Fall in Series Opener at Augusta, Greenjackets Use Late Surge To Fend Off Hagerstown - Hagerstown Suns
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