Gnats Game Notes
Published on May 26, 2010 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Tonight: The Gnats play game three of a four-game series with the Kannapolis Intimidators at Historic Grayson Stadium. The Gnats enter play today one game behind the Augusta GreenJackets for first place in the SAL Southern Division.
Last Night: The Gnats needed nine minutes to score a run in the bottom of the 13th to win Monday's suspended game 3-2. Jefry Marte drove home Alonzo Harris with a bloop into shallow center field with the winning run. Kannapolis won the regularly scheduled game 2-1, scoring twice against RHP Taylor Whitenton in the second inning. LHP Darin Gorski fired three perfect innings of relief with five strikeouts without a ball leaving the infield.
Now Pitching: Armando Rodriguez will make his 10th start for Savannah this evening. The Gnats are 4-5 when Rodriguez throws and have supported him with 4.8 runs per game. Rodriguez is coming off his shortest start of the year in which he lasted just two innings and gave up five runs, four earned on three hits and three walks in Charleston last Friday. 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.
Vs. Kannapolis: The Gnats are 1-1 against Kannapolis this year. Kannapolis will play 12 games over three series in Savannah, but the Gnats will not return the trip to Kannapolis in 2010. The Gnats and the Intimidators split their season series 2-2 last year. The last time the Gnats played 12 games in a season against Kannapolis was in 2007, when they were 5-7 against the Intimidators.
Top Arms: Savannah's pitching staff leads the SAL with a 2.48 ERA. The Gnats own the best WHIP (1.12) in the league and have given up the second-fewest hits (366). Savannah has yielded the fewest runs (150), 26 fewer than Hickory. Savannah (423) is now just one behind Hickory (424) for the most strikeouts in the league.
Running Efficiently: The Gnats lead the SAL in stolen base success percentage at 81.6% (62 SB/76 Attempts). Greenville is second at 80.4% (74/92). The Gnats are third in the League in stole bases, and have been caught just 14 times, the fewest of any team.
Slower Flo: Wilmer Flores is #3 in the SAL in batting average (.317), and tenth in on-base percentage (.379) and 13th in slugging (.500). Flores is just 4-for-35, (.114) in his last nine games, which has dropped his batting average from a high of .364 down to .317 today, a .47 point drop in just over a week. Flores hit .264/.305/.332 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with three home runs in 125 games for Savannah last year as a 17 year-old.
ZAP: Pedro Zapata rides a five game hitting streak over which time he is 7-for-21 (.333) with one double and two triples. After hitting .241/.347/.299 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with four extra base hits in 22 games in April, Zapata is hitting .289/.340/.422 with eight extra-base hits in 20 games in May. He is tied for second in the league with five triples, trailing only teammate Juan Lagares, and is ninth in the league in stolen bases with 15.
Home Cooking: the Gnats are 15-7 at home this year, a .682 winning percentage, the best home record in the SAL. Gnats are a perfect 11-0 at home when scoring four or more runs. Savannah is also 10-1 when scoring first at home.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 26, 2010
- Zapata's Big Night Delivers Win in 14 - Savannah Sand Gnats
- 'Dads Win Slugfest, 8-5, Against Delmarva - Hickory Crawdads
- Crawdads Trip Up Shorebirds, 8-5, in Game 3 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Errors Abound in 14th Inning 5-4 Loss for Kannapolis - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Tourists Edge Grasshoppers, 4-3 - Asheville Tourists
- Bucardo Fans Eight, GreenJackets Hold On to Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- RiverDogs Get Some Revenge, Shutout Drive 5-0 - Greenville Drive
- Black Blanks Greenville, 5-0 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Gnats Game Notes - Savannah Sand Gnats
- BlueClaws Make A Exciting Win 11-10 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Suns Rally But Fall In 9th - Hagerstown Suns
- WV Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Legends Hold On To Beat Power 5-4 - Lexington Legends
- Power Wins Against Lexington Legends - Lexington Legends
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