Gnats Game Notes

Published on May 19, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Tonight: The Gnats, who are tied with the Augusta GreenJackets for first place, finish a four-game series in Augusta, trying to avoid the sweep. The Gnats are still looking for their first run in the series after being held off the scoreboard by Augusta for the first 36 innings of the set.

Last Night: The GreenJackets scored in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by CF Evan Crawford to earn a 1-0 win. It was the second 1-0 Augusta win in the series. RHP Brandon Moore shutout Augusta through seven innings, fanning 12 without issuing a walk. The Gnats' offense collected just three singles.

Now Pitching: Jimmy Fuller will make his eighth start as a Gnat. The Gnats are 6-1 when Fuller starts and have supported him with 5.4 runs per game. He is currently sixth in the SAL with a 1.81 ERA. In his last start, Fuller held Rome to two runs on seven hits in six innings in the Gnats' 8-3 win last Thursday. Fuller's problem inning has been the first. In the first innings of games this year, Fuller has given up five of the nine earned runs he's allowed all year. Opponents are hitting .400 against him in the first, the highest of any frame. Fuller spent all of 2009 with the Brooklyn Cyclones where he was a NYP League All-Star in a season in which he was 3-6 with a 2.86 ERA in 12 games, 11 of which were starts. Fuller struck out 67 batters and walked fifteen for a sterling K/BB ratio of 4.67. Fuller was a DII All-American in 2008 at Southern Connecticut State University where he led DII in strikeouts with 145, averaging 13 whiffs per nine innings. He was 9-3 with a 1.39 ERA and put together a streak of 59 scoreless innings.

Vs. Augusta: The Gnats are 4-7 against Augusta, 1-3 at home and 3-4 on the road. Augusta is the only team to win a series against Savannah, having taken three of four from the Gnats April 12-15, and the first three games of this set.

GreenJacketed: The Gnats have had trouble scoring runs against Augusta pitching this year. GreenJackets pitching has shut out Savannah for the first 36 innings of this series and 39 innings overall. Savannah has been shut out five times this year, all by Augusta. The Gnats are hitting just .157 in this series with three doubles for a .182 slugging percentage. However, Savannah's single highest output for runs in a game (16) came in Augusta on April 22.

First Things First: Savannah has had a share of first place since beating Augusta 9-4 on April 21, but this is the first time that Savannah has had to share the top spot in the division since April 27.

Small Numbers: the Gnats are just 5-12 in games in which they score 3 runs or fewer. Remarkably, they are 6-6 on the road when their pitchers allow three runs or fewer, but 19-8 overall when their pitchers hold the opposition below four runs. The Gnats are 19-3 when scoring four or more runs.

Big Flo: Wilmer Flores leads the SAL in batting average (.354), and is third in on-base percentage (.410) and slugging (.570). Flores hit .264/.305/.332 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with three home runs in 125 games for Savannah last year.

Pitching In: Savannah leads the SAL with a 2.38 ERA and is the only team with an ERA below 3.15. Savannah is second in the league in strikeouts (352) and has allowed the second fewest home runs (14) to Charleston's 13.

Three Down: This is just the second time all year that the Sand Gnats have lost three games in a row. The Gnats dropped four straight to West Virginia and Augusta from April 11-14, a span in which the team scored four runs.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 19, 2010


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