Game #77 - Road Game #38 - Thursday – 7:00
RHP Ryan Fraser (4-5, 3.74) vs. RHP Aaron Northcraft (2-4, 3.29)
State Mutual Stadium, Rome, GA
Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats, winners of five games in a row, try to finish a four-game sweep of the Rome Braves, in Rome, GA. The Gnats finish their seven-game road trip with three games in Augusta before returning home for an Independence Day Fireworks Spectacular on Monday, July 4.
Yesterday: The Gnats scored a run in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth to beat Rome 5-2. Starter Yohan Almonte took a shutout into the seventh, but gave up two home runs in the inning. He earned his third win of the year, while giving up just three hits in seven innings, tying a season-high for most innings pitched by a Gnat this year.
Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser is scheduled to make his 12th Savannah start tonight. Fraser has given up five runs in five innings in each of his last two starts. Last year with short-season Brookly, Fraser struck out 39 batters in 31.1 innings pitched, a rate of 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. This year, he’s fanned 45 in 77 innings, a rate 5.3 K/9. Fraser pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for short-season Brooklyn in 2010. With the Cyclones last year, he was 3-3 with a 1.44 ERA and 12 saves in 31.1 IP. He struck out 39, walked 20 and yielded just 16 hits. The Mets drafted Fraser in the 16th round of the 2010 draft out of Memphis. The Rays originally drafted Fraser out of Walker Valley HS in the 49th round in 2006, but he chose to attend Gulf Coast Community College and then Memphis. At Memphis, he led the Tigers with 93 strikeouts and 92 IP in 2010 on his way to three C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors and a Second Team All C-USA selection. In the classroom, he was a member of the C-USA All-Academic Team in 2010 and ran a 4.0 grade point average in high school. The Gnats are 5-6 when Fraser starts, and have supported him with 3.00 runs per game (33 runs/11 games), the lowest mark of any Savannah starter.
Never Give Up: Yesterday, the Gnats scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, a common happening recently. The Gnats have taken the lead in the fifth inning or later in every single one of their six second-half wins. For the year, the Gnats have outscored their opponents 51-28 in the eighth inning, their most prolific offensive output in any frame.
First Again: The Gnats are alone in first place for the first time in the second half. Savannah leads Asheville by one game for first.
Bennett’s Brilliance: Hamilton Bennett has converted four straight save opportunities for the Gnats and has not allowed a run in five appearances. Bennett has not allowed a hit to any of the first batters he has seen in his 17 appearances.
Cordero Turns the Corner: C Albert Cordero was 2-4 in his last game on Tuesday has turned his season around. After a .182/.193/.218 line in 16 games in May, Cordero is up to .293/.354/.379 in June. His walk totals by month: April – 0, May – 1 and June – 4.
Thursday Drafts: The Gnats are 5-6 on Thursday, 2-3 at home and 3-3 on the road. Thursday is the only day of the week on which the Gnats’ have a losing record.
Strong Arms: The Gnats have the SAL’s best ERA (3.27), 35 hundredths of a run better than second-place Lakewood. The Gnats have have allowed the fewest hits (593), nine fewer than second-best Hickory. Savannah is fourth in the SAL in strikeouts (618) and owns the second-best WHIP (1.21) in the SAL, one one-hundredth behind League-leading West Virginia.
Vs. Rome: The Gnats are 12-3 against Rome this year, 6-1 at home and 6-1 on the road. Savannah was 14-9 against Rome a year ago, 9-2 on the road and 5-7 in Rome. Combined, the Gnats are 26-12 in the last two years against the Braves.
from team press release
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