Gnats Game Notes: Friday, June 11 @ Greensboro - 7:00 pm

From Press Release:

Savannah Sand Gnats (36-25, 2nd, Southern) vs. Greensboro Grasshoppers (28-33, 6th, Northern)

Game #62 - Road Game #30 - Friday – 7:00

RHP Collin McHugh (2-3, 2.52) vs. LHP Jose Alvarez (5-1, 3.55)

NewBridge Bank Park – Greensboro, NC - Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, http://www.sandgnats.com/


Tonight: The Gnats play the second game of a three-game series in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Gnats, who have won four games in a row, are one game behind first place Augusta, with nine games to play in the season’s first half.

Last Night: Mark Cohoon threw his second consecutive complete game shutout, holding the Grasshoppers to three hits and a walk in nine innings. The Gnats tied a season-high with three home runs. 1B Michael Fisher and SS Wilmer Flores hit back-to-back jacks in the third inning, the first time the Gnats have hit multiple homers in an inning.

Now Pitching: Collin McHugh will make his sixth start of the year, and his third in a row after making seven of out eight appearances out of the bullpen from April 21-May 26. In his last start, McHugh gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning to Kannapolis, but did not allow another run in his eight innings of work. He tied a personal season-high with seven strikeouts and retired the final 13 batters he faced. In his last five outings, McHugh owns a 1.38 ERA (4 ER/29 IP) with strong peripheral stats including a K/BB of 5.2 (26 K/5 BB) and 23 hits allowed for an opponents’ batting average of .213 (23 H/108 AB). Last year, McHugh was 8-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 75 innings for the Brooklyn Cyclones in the New York-Penn League. He struck out 79 and walked 21. The Mets drafted McHugh in the 18th round in 2008 out of Berry (GA) College.

Vs. Greensboro: The Gnats are 1-0 against the Grasshoppers this year. The Gnats are 6-7 against Greensboro as a Mets affiliate. The last time Savannah played more than four games against Greensboro was 2005, when they were 6-2 against the Grasshoppers.

On the Mark: With his second consecutive complete game shutout last night, Mark Cohoon became the first pitcher in minor league baseball with two shutouts in 2010. He joins Roy Halladay (3), Matt Cain (2) and Ubaldo Jimenez (2) as the only pitchers in the major and minor leagues with multiple shutouts in 2010. His 1.44 ERA leads the SAL.