Savannah Sand Gnats Game Notes

Published on June 25, 2011 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Savannah Sand Gnats News Release


Tonight: The First-Half Champion Gnats, SAL affiliate of the New York Mets, play game three in the second half against the Augusta GreenJackets, SAL affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

Last Night: The Gnats and GreenJackets split a doubleheader with Savannah winning the opener 2-1 and dropping the nightcap 4-2.

Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser is scheduled to make his 11th Savannah start tonight. Fraser allowed five runs on five hits and two walks in his last start before the All-Star Break in a 5-4 Savannah loss. In three of his last five outings, Fraser has held the opposition scoreless; in the other two, he has given up five runs on five hits. Fraser owns a 2.73 ERA at home at Historic Grayson Stadium and a 3.92 ERA on the road, in part because all six of the home runs he's allowed this year have been on the road. Fraser pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for short-season Brooklyn in 2010. With the Cyclones last year, he was 3-3 with a 1.44 ERA and 12 saves in 31.1 IP. He struck out 39, walked 20 and yielded just 16 hits. In ratio form, that's 4.6 H/9 IP, 5.7 BB/9 and 11.2 K/9. The Mets drafted Fraser in the 16th round of the 2010 draft out of Memphis. The Rays originally drafted Fraser out of Walker Valley HS in the 49th round in 2006, but he chose to attend Gulf Coast Community College and then Memphis. At Memphis, he led the Tigers with 93 strikeouts and 92 IP in 2010 on his way to three C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors and a Second Team All C-USA selection. In the classroom, he was a member of the C-USA All-Academic Team in 2010 and ran a 4.0 grade point average in high school. The Gnats are 4-5 when Fraser starts, and have supported him with 2.56 runs per game (23 runs/8 games), the lowest mark of any Savannah starter.

Rafael's Rips: Rafael Fernandez, who had a personal season-best eight-game hitting streak snapped last night is hitting .333/.395/.478 in 19 games in June. His OPS has increased every month from .751 in April to .803 in May and .873 in June.

Coastal Emperors: The Gnats are now 26-11 at home, a .702 winning percentage and are 14-20 on the road a .412.

A Gnatty Score: Three of the Gnats' last four wins have come by 2-1 scores. All four games were played at home at Historic Grayson Stadium.

Where the Homers Happen: The Gnats have hit 32 home runs in 34 games on the road, but just four long balls in 37 games at home. The Gnats hit two home runs in the bottom of the first of the team's home opener on April 15 and just two since. Aderlin Rodriguez hit the Gnats' last homer at home on April 23, 28 games ago.

Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL's best ERA (3.26), 36 hundredths of a run better than second-place Hagerstown (3.62). The Gnats have the second-best WHIP (1.22) in the SAL, and have allowed the fewest hits (557) in the League.

Weak Bats: The Gnats are last in the League in runs scored (265), 30 fewer than second-worst Lakewood. Savannah is last in the SAL in batting average (.242) and slugging (.356) and 12th out of 14 teams in on-base percentage (.320). The Gnats are tied for eighth in the League with 233 walks drawn.

Vs. Augusta: The Gnats are 7-2 against Augusta this year, 4-1 at home and 3-1 on the road. The Gnats and GreenJackets play each other in 12 of the teams' next 38 games. The four runs Augusta scored in game two yesterday were the GreenJackets most in any single game against Savannah this year.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 25, 2011


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