Gnats Game Notes: Wednesday, June 30 @ Greenville - 7 pm

from press release


Savannah Sand Gnats  vs. Greenville Drive
Game #77 - Road Game #37- Wednesday – 7:00

RHP Armando Rodriguez (5-5, 2.92) vs. LHP Manuel Rivera (2-6, 3.24)

Fluor Field, Greenville, SC

Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, http://www.sandgnats.com/



Tonight: The first half champion Savannah Sand Gnats try to make it two-in-a-row over the Drive, the Red Sox SAL affiliate in Greenville, South Carolina.



Last Night: The Gnats beat the Drive 6-1 behind John Church who made his first start of the year. Church held the Drive scoreless over four innings, giving up just one hit and a walk while striking out three. For the year, Church is now 3-0 with a 1.34 ERA and 38 strikeouts against 13 walks in 40.1 innings. Pedro Zapata’s 2-run single gave Savannah a 2-0 lead in the second inning, and Alonzo Harris’ fourth home run of the year, a three run blast, made it 5-0 in the sixth inning. Luis Rojas, who threw three scoreless innings, won his first decision as a Gnat.



Now Pitching: Armando Rodriguez is scheduled to make his team-leading 16th start for Savannah. Rodriguez was originally slated to throw last night, but was pushed back to tonight in place of LHP Jimmy Fuller. Since May 1, Rodriguez is 4-2 with a 2.31 ERA (13 ER/50.2 IP) and has allowed opponents to hit just .190 (35 H/180 AB). For the year, Rodriguez’s opponent’s batting average of .209 is the fourth-best among SAL starters. Rodriguez lasted 4.1 innings in his last start, giving up one unearned run to the Tourists in a 2-0 loss on Thursday. Rodriguez started the opening game of both the first and second halves. The Gnats are 9-6 when Rodriguez throws and have supported him with 5.00 runs per game, the third-most among Savannah starters. 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. Greenville: The Gnats are 1-0 against Greenville this year. The teams will play two five-game series, one in Greenville, and one in Savannah, July 14-18. The Gnats are 17-16 against the Drive since becoming a Mets affiliate before the 2007 season.

After going 1-4 last night, Wilfredo Tovar has hit in four of the Gnats’ last five games. In his last five, the 18-year old is hitting .438 (7 H/16 AB). Tovar was transferred from Advanced-A St. Lucie over the All-Star Break when SS Wilmer Flores was promoted. Flores is five days older than Tovar.


Nick Santomauro has a four-game hitting streak going, his best as a Gnat. In that time, by going 5-15 (.333) with three doubles, he’s lifted his batting average from .150 to .172. Santomauro had three doubles in his first 28 games as a Gnat; he has the same number – three – in his last four games.