Savannah Sand Gnats (7-5) vs. Augusta GreenJackets (9-3)

From Press Release:

Game #13 - Road Game #5 - Tuesday – 7:00

LHP Mark Cohoon (2-0, 0.77) vs. RHP Chris Heston (1-0, 0.00)

Lake Olmstead Stadium - Augusta, GA Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630,  http://www.sandgnats.com/

Tonight: The Gnats play the first game of a four-game series at Augusta and game five of an eight-game roadtrip. Savannah enters having won three of four in Rome and four of their last five overall.
Last Night: Jimmy Fuller held the Braves in check and Juan Lagares provided the power in a 4-1 Savannah win in Rome. Fuller gave up one run on six hits while striking out three to earn his second win. Lagares was 2-4 with a triple and a homer while scoring the first two Savannah runs. The home run was the first of the year for the Gnats.
Now Pitching: Mark Cohoon will make his third Sand Gnats of the year. Cohoon will be making back-to-back starts against Augusta after holding the GreenJackets to one run on four hits in six innings last Thursday. Cohoon is currently tenth in the SAL in ERA at 0.77 (1 ER/ 11.2 IP) He spent all of 2009 with Brooklyn in the New York-Penn League where he was 9-2 with a 2.15 ERA in 14 starts. He fanned 70 and walked 20 in 92 innings. His 2.15 ERA was 6th in the League and the Mets recognized him with the team’s Sterling Award as the Cyclones MVP. In 2008 with Savannah, Cohoon was 2-2 with a 3.82 ERA in seven starts after moving directly from the Kingsport Mets, skipping over Brooklyn.

Top of the Charts: Gnats pitching leads the SAL with a 2.02 ERA (24 ER/107 IP). Savannah has the best WHIP (0.99) and is tied with Augusta for the fewest hits allowed (76) in the SAL. Gnats pitching has shutout the opponent or allowed one run in six of the team’s first 12 games.

Scoring is Good: In their seven wins, the Gnats have scored 39 runs, an average of 5.57 runs per game. In their five losses, the Gnats have scored six total runs, an average of 1.2 runs per game and been shut out twice. Savannah is 7-0 when scoring four or more runs and 0-5 when scoring three runs or fewer.
4-1 Flavors: Last night, the Gnats won by a 4-1 score for the third time in their last five games. Aside from those games, each of the Gnats other nine games in 2010 has had a unique score.

Good Flo: 18-year old SS Wilmer Flores leads the Gnats with a .356 (16 H/45 AB) batting average and five multi-hit games. He has been held hitless in just twice in the Gnats first 12 games and is the hardest hitter in the SAL to strikeout with just one whiff in 47 total plate appearances.

All Hail Cesar: Cesar Puello has hit safely in five straight games, tying him with Lagares for the best hitting streak by a Gnat this year. In his last five games, Puello is hitting .277 (5 H/18 AB) with a double, two walks, four runs scored, an RBI and six strikeouts.

Gro-ing Well: Catcher Kai Gronauer is third in the SAL with a .471 on base percentage. His .556 slugging percentage leads the Gnats and is 11th in the SAL.

Contact! As a team, the Gnats have struck out just 84 times, the fewest of any unit in the SAL and drawn 29 walks, the fourth-fewest in the SAL.

Slugging Update: Juan Lagares hit the Gnats first home run of the year last night in the sixth inning. Savannah was the last team in the SAL to hit a home run; no other team in the League has hit fewer than two. Lagares is currently slugging .469, he’s never slugged better than .337 in his previous three attempts in the SAL.