Savannah Sand Gnats (36-26, 2nd, Southern) vs. Greensboro Grasshoppers (29-33, t-5th, Northern)
Game #63 - Road Game #31 - Saturday – 7:00
RHP Brandon Moore (2-4, 2.32) vs. RHP Curtis Petersen (2-6, 6.60)
NewBridge Bank Park – Greensboro, NC - Radio: WBMQ News/Talk 630, http://www.sandgnats.com/
Tonight: The Gnats play the rubber game of a three-game series in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Gnats remain one game behind first place Augusta with eight games to play in the season’s first half.
Last Night: Greensboro blew out Savannah 11-1, scoring eight runs in the first inning against Collin McHugh in a rally that began with two outs and no runners on base.
Now Pitching: Brandon Moore will make his 11th start for the Savannah Sand Gnats. The Gnats are 5-5 when Moore throws and have supported him with 3.3 runs per game, the second-lowest mark among Gnats pitchers. Moore is ninth in the SAL with a 2.32 ERA, and leads the League in strikeouts (88) and strikeout rate (12.05 SO/9 IP) and is third in WHIP (0.94). Moore has thrown at least seven innings in six of his last seven starts. The only start in that span in which he did not throw seven (May 23rd in Charleston) he was chased from the game by an hour and 27 minute rain delay. Moore was 6-3 with a 2.09 ERA in 82 innings over 13 starts for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2009, striking out 71 batters and walking 17. He threw the first no-hitter in Brooklyn Cyclones history on August 23, 2009 striking out six and walking three. The Brooklyn Cyclones beat the Aberdeen Ironbirds 5-0 in game one of a seven-inning doubleheader in Moore’s no-hitter. The Mets drafted Moore in the 14th round out of Indiana Wesleyan University in 2008 where he was the Mid-Central College Conference Player of the Year.
Vs. Greensboro: The Gnats are 1-1 against the Grasshoppers this year. The Gnats are 6-8 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.
About Last Night: The 10-run margin of defeat was the worst for Savannah this year, eclipsing the Gnats’ 11-2 loss to Hickory on April 26 which was also the last time that Savannah had allowed thee home runs in a game and yielded 11 runs in a nine-inning game. The eight runs the Grasshoppers scored in the first inning were the most allowed by Savannah pitching in any inning this year.
Simply the Best: The Gnats’ pitching staff still leads the SAL in ERA at 2.55, but it rose .13 after giving up 11 runs last night.
Playoff Scenario: Savannah trails Augusta by one game with eight to play in the first half. Augusta currently holds the tiebreaker over Savannah by virtue of a better head-to-head record (8-4). The two teams finish the half with four games against each other in Augusta, where Savannah is 3-5 this year. If Savannah sweeps that series, the Gnats and Augusta would have the same head-to-head record at 8-8. The next tie-breaker is runs scored head-to-head where Savannah, which has outscored Augusta 49-40 in the teams’ games thus far this year, would have a larger advantage post-sweep. Failing a sweep in Augusta, the Gnats need to win the division outright, by at least one game to be the first half champs.
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