Savannah Sand Gnats Game Notes
Published on May 21, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release
Tonight: The Gnats, SAL affiliate of the New York Mets, play game two of a four-game series against the first-place Greenville Drive, SAL affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Gnats trail the Drive by one and a half games for first place in the SAL Southern Division.
Last Night: The Drive scored four times in the first inning and four more times in the final three innings to pull away from the Gnats in a 9-3 win. LF Rafael Fernandez drove home two Savannah runs with a first inning single and SS Robbie Shields was 2-4 with a double to extend his hitting streak to a team-best 10 straight games.
Now Pitching: RHP Taylor Whitenton will make his fifth start of the year. After throwing 11.2 shutout innings in his first two starts in May, Whitenton allowed six runs, all earned in 2.2 innings in his last start in which he was staked to a 6-0 advantage in a game in which Rome came from behind to beat the Gnats 7-6. 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. Whitenton started and took the loss in game two of the 2010 SAL Southern Division Championship series in which the Greenville Drive swept the Gnats 2-0. In that game on September 10, he gave up five runs on four hits, including a home run, and three walks with four strikeouts in five 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 3-1 when Whitenton starts and have supported him with 4.0 runs per game.
Standings Update: The Gnats have slipped from first to fourth with losses in their last two games. The top five teams in the SAL Southern Division remain separated by just two games.
Robbie Rollin': Robbie Shields owns a ten-game hitting streak over which time he is 19-for-43 (.442) with seven doubles, two triples, eight runs scored, eight RBI and five walks and five strikeouts. Shields is the first Gnat in 2011 to hit safely in 10-straight games. Aderlin Rodriguez had a nine-game hitting streak from April 23-May 2. In 17 games in May, Shields is now hitting .348/.421/.576 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 12 extra base hits and eight walks against nine strikeouts. He is tied for the SAL lead with four triples.
About Last Night: At 3:04, it was the longest nine-inning game the Gnats have played this year... the Drive's eight stolen bases were a new season-high against Savannah... Felix Sanchez swiped three bases, a new individual high against the Gnats...the nine runs the Drive scored tied a season-high against Savannah.
More Average for Blake: After hitting .183/.246/.400 with four walks and seven extra-base hits (four doubles and three home runs) in 16 games in April, Blake Forsythe is hitting .262/.353/.333 with seven walks and two extra base hits (a double and a triple) in 13 games in May.
Pitching to the Top of the Charts: The Gnats slipped back to second in the SAL in ERA (3.56) after allowing eight earned runs last night.
Vs. Greenville: The Gnats are 3-2 against the Drive in 2011, all at home. Of the 20 meetings between the two teams, 12 games are scheduled for Savannah and eight in Greenville. In 2010, the Gnats were 4-6 against the Drive in the regular season. Greenville, who won the second half, swept Savannah, the First-Half Champions, 2-0 in the first round of the SAL Playoffs.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 21, 2011
- Lakewood Makes It 4 Straight With 11-6 Win - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Duvall's Two-Run Drive Spurs Augusta to 3-1 win - Charleston RiverDogs
- Lakewood gets past West Virginia - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Duvall's 11th Inning Blast Wins It For Augusta - Augusta GreenJackets
- 'Dads come back late for 5-4 win in Rome - Hickory Crawdads
- Late Inning Error Gives Hickory the Win - Rome Emperors
- Gnats Come Back to Stop Drive 5-3 Saturday - Savannah Sand Gnats
- Intimidators unleash season-high 16 runs on Shorebirds - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Intimidators Rout Shorebirds 16-6 In Game Two - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Legends Break Tie in 7th, Get 6-3 Win Over Asheville - Lexington Legends
- Croff, Poe Take Top Spots in 8th Annual Run, Forrest Run 5K - Charleston RiverDogs
- Savannah Sand Gnats Game Notes - Savannah Sand Gnats
- West Virginia Power Game Notes - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Delmarva Shorebirds Game Notes - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Grasshoppers Edge Suns in Series Opener, 5-4 - Hagerstown Suns
- Grasshoppers Edge Suns in Series Opener, 5-4 - Hagerstown Suns
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