Rain Delay Dampers Drive's Chance for a Victory, Lose 2-0
August 20, 2011 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Greenville Drive News Release
Greenville, SC - An hour-plus rain delay interrupted what had the makings of a great pitchers' duel Saturday between the Drive's Kyle Stroup and Savannah's Taylor Whitenton. After Mother Nature chased away both hurlers after four innings, the Sand Gnats (74-50, 36-20) went onto blank Greenville (67-58, 29-26), 2-0 at Fluor Field.
Stroup (5-6) endured the tough luck loss, his first in seven starts since coming off the disabled list on July 17th, despite allowing zero earned runs in his shortened stint. The right-hander only needed 48 pitches to get through his four innings, while striking out two and not issuing a base on balls.
The Sand Gnats broke a scoreless tie in the top of the second, when Albert Cordero began the frame by reaching on a Xander Bogaerts' error at shortstop. Following a double down the leftfield line by Aderlin Rodriguez, a groundout by Blake Forsythe put Savannah on top, 1-0.
Despite allowing four hits and a walk in his 4.0 inning outing, Savannah's Whitenton was unscathed. The right-hander stranded runners in scoring position in the second and fourth innings.
Justin Erasmus entered from the bullpen for Greenville following the delay, allowing just a pair of hits while fanning two in 3.0 shutout innings. The Drive's third right-hander of the night, Michael Gleason, added a scoreless eighth inning, but the Sand Gnats were able to tack on an insurance run in the top of the ninth.
Joe Bonfe drew a two-out walk, and came all the way around to score when Jet Butler deposited a single just out of the reach of a diving Felix Sanchez in centerfield.
The two-run lead was all that Savannah needed to defeat the Drive, who could only muster six hits on a soggy night at Fluor Field. Both Henry Ramos and Wilfred Pichardo recorded two hits apiece, but Gre
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