Division Series Game 3 - Saturday - 6:05
RHP Erik Goeddel (3-5, 3.39) vs. RHP Taylor Rogers (12-10, 2.91)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: http://www.sandgnats.com/ only
Tonight: The Gnats and GreenJackets will play a decisive game three in the best-of-three South Atlantic League Southern Division Championship. Tonight’s winner will move on to face the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the best-of-five SAL Championship Series beginning Monday.
Last Night: C Blake Forsythe finished what Johan Santana started in Savannah’s 3-2 win that forced game three. Forsythe, pinch-hitting for Juan Gamboa in the bottom of the eighth inning lined a double over the head of Augusta LF Michael Mergenthaler to drive home Albert Cordero from first base with the go-ahead and eventual winning run. Santana allowed one unearned run on two hits and a walk with one strikeout in his three innings. Taylor Whitenton followed with six punchouts in the next 3.1 innings. He gave up a run in the seventh, before giving way to LHP Adam Kolarek, who stranded two runners and took care of the eighth to earn the win.
Now Pitching: RHP Erik Goeddel will take the ball for Savannah. A strained right shoulder kept him out of action from May 23 through August 7. When he came back, his ERA and walk rate rose, while his strikeout rate declined .
The Mets drafted Goeddel in the 24th round of the 2010 draft out of UCLA. Goeddel underwent Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school at San Jose’s Bellarmine Prep in 2007 and missed most of the next two years at UCLA. In 2010 he was excellent for the Bruins out of the bullpen, striking out 59 and walking 23 while giving up 44 hits in 50 innings for rates of 10.6 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and 7.9 H/9. Coming into the 2011 season, Goeddel was ranked as the Mets’ 17th best prospect by Baseball America, and the team’s 16th best by Baseball Prospectus. The Gnats were 7-6 when Goeddel starts in the regular season, and supported him with 4.46 runs per game.
Playoff History: Last night’s win was the Gnat’s first playoff victory in 15 years since clinching the 1996 SAL Championship. Savannah’s 2010 playoff run was brief: the team was swept two games to none in the first round by the Greenville Drive. Before 2010, the Gnats’ last trip to the SAL playoffs was 1996, when the Gnats won the League championship. The Savannah Cardinals won back-to-back SAL titles in 1993 and 1994. The Gnats are looking for their fourth SAL Championship in the League’s modern era, which dates to the 1980 season, and 10th overall. The Savannah franchise won its first SAL championship in 1906.
Taking Turns: No Gnat batter has hit safely in both of the first two games of this series… For example, CF Darell Ceciliani, who was 4-for-4 in game two, was 0-for-4 in game one while RF Rafael Fernandez, who was 2-4 in game one took an 0-for-4 Friday.
Vs. Augusta: Including the regular season and playoffs, the Gnats are 16-7 against the GreenJackets, 10-2 at home at Historic Grayson Stadium and 6-5 on the road. Savannah was 9-5 against Augusta in the second half when the two teams played each other 14 times in 40 games to start the half.
Strong Finishes: Albert Cordero led the Gnats, among all players with at least five games played, in batting average (.286). … He hit .330/.373/.439 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with nine doubles, two triples and four home runs in 59 games in the second half…From August 1, through the end of the regular season, Darrell Ceciliani hit .304/.409/.411 in his final 29 games and was successful on 10 of 11 attempts stealing bases.
More Head-to-Head: In 21 games against the GreenJackets this year in the regular season, the Gnats hit .259/.338/.341 and scored 4.8 runs per game (94 runs/21 games). By contrast, Gnats pitching held the ‘Jackets to a .213/.295/.285 line and 2.8 runs per game (59 runs/21 games).
Location Matters: Including the regular season and playoffs, the Gnats are 49-22 at home, thanks in part to a 23-6 record in one-run games. On the road, Savannah is 31-39 and 4-14 in one-run games. The ‘Jackets, including the playoffs, are 40-30 at home and 31-40 on the road.
Strong Arms: The Gnats finished the regular season as the top pitching staff in the SAL in ERA (3.26), WHIP (1.22) and fewest hits allowed (1070). The Gnats were fifth in strikeouts (1058) and allowed the sixth fewest walks (428).
Playoff Schedule: The best-of-five SAL Championship Series will begin in Greensboro on Monday, September 12, returning to Savannah, if the Gnats advance, on Thursday, September 15.
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