Game #52 - Home Game #25 - Wednesday – 7:05
RHP Taylor Whitenton (2-0, 2.19) vs. RHP Matt Heidenreich (4-2, 5.93)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: News/Talk 630 and http://www.sandgnats.com/
Tonight: The first place Gnats, SAL affiliate of the New York Mets, begin a four-game series tonight against the Kannapolis Intimidators, SAL affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. After sweeping the RiverDogs, the Gnats have won the first three games on this seven-game home stand.
Last Night: Greg Peavey shut out the RiverDogs for six innings to lead the Gnats to a 1-0 shutout win. It was the sixth shutout win of the year for Savannah. Corey Vaughn singled home Robbie Shields with the game’s only run in the fourth inning.
Now Pitching: RHP Taylor Whitenton is scheduled for his seventh start of the year tonight. Outside of allowing six runs in a start against Rome on May 16th, Whitenton has given up just four runs in his other 34.1 innings this season. His 2.19 ERA would be good enough for third in the SAL, but he is 4.2 innings short of qualifying for the League leaderboard. In 2010 with the Gnats, Whitenton walked 5.7 batters/9 IP (68 BB/108.1 IP), but this year, he’s down to 3.65 BB/9 (15 BB/37 IP). 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 the playoff game, 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 5-1 when Whitenton starts and have supported him with 4.3 runs per game.
Good Times: The Gnats are five games over .500 for the first time in 2011. The team has won nine of their last ten games - a run that has taken them from half a game out of first place to 3.5 games up, their largest lead of the year. After losing seven in a row from April 22-29, the Gnats were 7-14 and a season-high 5.5 games out of first. Since that point, Savannah is 21-9, and has picked up nine games in the standings.
Marvelous May: May was the Gnats’ best month as a Mets affiliate. Savannah was 20-9, surpassing their previous high for wins in a month of 16, set in July 2008 and 2009. The pitching staff had a 2.08 ERA, a 3.2 K/BB ratio (256 K/80 BB) and a .212 opponents’ batting average. In April, the Gnats had a 4.64 ERA and a 2.5 K/BB ratio and a .278 opponents’ average. Cory Vaughn hit .356/.496/.510 in May with 10 extra base hits, while Robbie Shields hit .327/.375/.500 with 16 extra base hits.
Leading Bats: Vaughn is second in the SAL in OBP (.462), sixth in average (.333) and fourth in walks (31). Shields is tied for second in the League in doubles (17) and triples (17).
Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL’s best ERA (3.11) and WHIP (1.23). The Gnats have allowed three runs or fewer in 22 of their 28 wins in 2011 and have allowed five or fewer in every single one of their wins.
Slo-mo Streak: Luis Nieves has hit in six straight games-a span that started on May 9. In that time, he’s hitting .454 (10-for-22) with no extra-base hits and four RBI.
Versus Kannapolis: This is the first and only series between the Gnats and Intimidators in 2011. The Gnats were 8-5 against Kannapolis in 2010.
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