Game Notes: Thursday, July 8 - Savannah @ Asheville - 7:05 pm

-from press release


Savannah Sand Gnats @ Asheville Tourists 

Game #85 - Road Game #41 - Thursday – 7:05

RHP Taylor Whitenton (3-4, 3.58) vs. RHP Chris Balcom-Miller (1-4, 3.14)

McCormick Field, Asheville, NC

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



Tonight: After splitting a four-game series at home with Rome, the first-half champion Gnats head to Asheville to begin a five-game set with the Tourists, the Colorado Rockies SAL affiliate. This will be the Gnats’ first visit to Asheville.



Last Night: The Sand Gnats produced a complete team effort on their way to a 6-2 win over Rome. Eight of the nine Savannah batters had base hit. The bullpen of Gabriel Zavala and Michael Powers and starter Darin Gorski combined to retire the final 15 Rome batters in a row with seven strikeouts. Gorski earned the win for holding Asheville to two runs on eight hits and three walks in five innings. The bottom four hitters in the Savannah lineup, C Juan Torres, DH Jet Butler, 2B Alonzo Harris and SS Wilfredo Tovar combined to go 7-for-14 with two doubles, four runs scored and four RBI.



Now Pitching: Taylor Whitenton will make his eighth start of the year this evening. After four straight relief appearances, Whitenton has lost each of his most recent starts, both five inning outings in which he’s given up two runs. In his last ten innings as a starter, Whitenton has walked seven and struck out ten. The Gnats are 2-5 when Whitenton starts and have supported him with 3.14 runs per game, the second-lowest support of any Gnats starter. Whitenton threw five scoreless innings over four games in the Gulf Coast League in 2009, 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.



Vs. Asheville: The Gnats are 3-6 against the Tourists this year. The two teams are scheduled for 18 games this year, 14 of which will be played in the second half. The Gnats were 5-7 against the Tourists last year. The Gnats are 16-24 against the Tourists as a Mets affiliate.