Savannah Sand Gants Pre-Game Notes

Game #48 - Road Game #27 - Saturday – 7:05


RHP Ryan Fraser (2-3, 3.21) vs. RHP Taylor Rogers (3-5, 2.58)


Lake Olmsted Stadium, Augusta, GA


Radio: News/Talk 630 and http://www.sandgnats.com/



Tonight: The first place Gnats, SAL affiliate of the New York Mets, look for a sweep in Augusta and their seventh straight win in the finale of a four game series against the Augusta GreenJackets, SAL affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The Gnats return home for Military Appreciation Night on Sunday, May 29.



Last Night: Darrell Ceciliani and Rafael Fernandez each had two hits to lead the Gnats to a 5-2 win over the GreenJackets in a game that was delayed by over an hour due to rain. The win was the Gnats’ sixth straight – a new season high.



Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser is scheduled to make his ninth Savannah start. Fraser has a 1.82 ERA at home, but a 4.70 ERA on the road, where he has allowed four home runs compared to zero at home. Fraser pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for short-season Brooklyn in 2010. With the Cyclones, 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 3-5 when Fraser starts, and have supported him with 2.63 runs per game (21 runs/8 games), the lowest mark of any Savannah starter.



Super Six: The Gnats have won six games in a row for the first time in 2011 and the first time as a Mets affiliate, a relationship which began before the 2007 season. Savannah has outscored their opponents by a combined score of 28-14 in the last six games. The Gnats have won three of the six in their final turn at bat… The Gnats are three games over .500 for the first time this season.



About Last Night: Savannah pitching issued seven walks, the most by the team in a nine-inning game in 2011… The game time of 3:05 was the longest in a nine-inning game this year.



Road Warriors: After going 3-10 on the road in April, the Gnats are 9-4 on the road in May.



Cory’s Cuts: With his two walks last night, Cory Vaughn is up to third in the SAL in walks (31). He leads all of minor league baseball with 13 hit-by pitches and is fourth in minor league baseball in on-base percentage (.478). He is fifth in the SAL in batting average (.341), and eighth in OPS (.978). Vaughn is hitting .375/.530/.557 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with seven doubles, three home runs, 21 walks and 18 strikeouts in 25 games in May.


Standings Update: With 22 games to play in the first half, the Gnats own their largest lead, a game and a half, over the second-place Lexington Legends who lost last night, snapping their five-game winning streak.



Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL’s best ERA (3.28) and WHIP (1.24). Savannah’s 403 strikeouts are fourth in the SAL.



Vs. Augusta: The Gnats are 3-0 against the GreenJackets in 2011. Ten of the games are scheduled for Augusta, and 11 for Savannah. The Gnats were 9-14 against Augusta last year, 4-7 at home and 5-7 on the road.