Gnats Game Notes
April 23, 2010 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Game #16- Road Game #8 - Friday - 7:05
Savannah Sand Gnats (10-5, 1st, Southern) vs. Augusta GreenJackets (9-6, t-2nd, Southern)
RHP Armando Rodriguez (0-2, 3.68) vs. RHP Zack Wheeler (0-2, 16.20)
Lake Olmstead Stadium - Augusta, GA
Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, sandgnats.com
Tonight: The Gnats play the final game of a four-game series at Augusta and the final game of their eight-game road trip on which the team is currently 6-1. Savannah enters with a four game winning streak, the team's best all year and has won seven of its last eight games.
Last Night: The Gnats blew out Augusta 16-4 on the strength of 16 hits and three homeruns, the first multi-homer game of the year for the Gnats.
Now Pitching: Armando Rodriguez will make his fourth start for Savannah this evening. Rodriguez was touched up for four runs on six hits in 4.2 innings on April 13th in an 8-3 Gnats loss the only other time he faced Augusta this year. Rodriguez pitched for both Kingsport and Savannah in 2009. With Kingsport a year ago, he was 3-1 with a 2.96 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 20 walks in 45.2 innings. Promoted to Savannah on August 27th, he finished the year with a dominant three-start performance in which he allowed just five hits in 16.2 innings and struck out 24. The Mets signed Rodriguez as a non-drafted free agent June 6, 2007.
Thursday Superlatives: Last night, the Gnats set a new season-high with 16 runs scored and three home runs. The game at three hours and 20 minutes, was also the longest on the clock for the team this year, passing the Gnats 8-3 loss to Augusta on April 13th which was 3:19 by one minute. On the personal side, Dock Doyle tied a Gnats season high by drawing three walks and Pedro Zapata tied a season high with four hits.
A Healthy Margin: The Gnats have the best scoring margin in the league, at +42, having outscored their opponents by a combined score of 81-39. The Lexington Legends, who hold a +21 run differential are the second-best.
Defensive Data: Savannah has the best fielding percentage in the SAL (.980) and has committed the fewest errors (11). The Gnats six unearned runs allowed is tied for best in the League.
Offensive Explosion: Over their four game winning streak, the Gnats have scored 40, or 10 runs per game. In their first 12 games of the year, Savannah had scored 41 runs, an average of 3.42 runs per game. Savannah has batted around in each of the last three nights. In their ten wins, the Gnats have scored 75 runs, an average of 7.5 runs per game. In their five losses, the Gnats have scored six total runs, an average of 1.2 runs per game and been shut out twice. Savannah is 10-0 when scoring four or more runs and 0-5 when scoring three runs or fewer.
Top of the Charts: Gnats pitching leads the SAL with a 2.22 ERA (33 ER/134 IP). Savannah has the best WHIP (1.07), has allowed the fewest runs (39) and hits (104) in the SAL. Gnats pitching has allowed just 39 total runs, 17 runs better than Rome, which was has given up 56 runs, thirteen of which have been unearned.
Lets Go Streaking! Four different Gnats ride personal-best hit streaks into tonight's game led by Cesar Puello, who has a Gnats' season best eight-game hit streak going. In his last eight games, Puello is hitting .323 (10 H/31 AB) with three doubles, two walks, nine runs scored, three RBI and seven strikeouts. Wilmer Flores has hit in seven straight games, Pedro Zapata and Rafael Fernandez in six straight and Kai Gronauer in four straight. In his last seven games, Flores is hitting .400 (12 H/30 AB) with four doubles, two home runs, four walks, four strikeouts, six runs scored and 12 RBI.
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South Atlantic League Stories from April 23, 2010
- BlueClaws beat Hagerstown - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Braves Lose Heartbreaker in 10th - Rome Emperors
- Five-Run Sixth Snaps Jackets Skid in 9-5 Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Suns Lose to Lakewood in 14 Innings - Hagerstown Suns
- 'Dogs win finale 6-3, 'Dads win series 3-1 - Hickory Crawdads
- Shorebirds tripped up in extra innings - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Legends win 5-1, sweep series with Asheville - Lexington Legends
- Walks, Error Sink Drive, 5-1, in Finale with Power - Greenville Drive
- RiverDogs Snap Five-Game Skid, Win 6-3 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Intimidators win over Rome - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Gnats Game Notes - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Tourists Add Two Players; Two Placed On Disabled List - Asheville Tourists
- Townsend Heads to DL - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Ninth Inning Rally Lifts Hagerstown Past Lakewood - Hagerstown Suns
- Legends Win In 15, 8-7 - Lexington Legends
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