Game #98 - Home Game #40 - Saturday - 6:05
RHP Ryan Fraser (6-6, 3.26) vs. RHP Carlos Quevedo (6-4, 4.25)
Historic Grayson Stadium, Savannah, GA
Radio: News/Talk 630 and sandgnats.com
Tonight: The first-half champion Gnats begin a four-game series with the Lexington Legends, SAL affiliate of the Houston Astros. The Gnats took two of three from the West Virginia Power to begin their seven-game home stand.
Last Night: Alonzo Harris was 2-3 with three RBI and an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the Gnats to a 3-1 victory over the West Virginia Power. Starter Yohan Almonte held the Power to one unearned run on five hits in seven innings to improve to 4-5 while Gabriel Zavala worked the final two innings for his first save of 2011.
Now Pitching: RHP Ryan Fraser is scheduled to make his 16th Savannah start today. Fraser is 1-1 in July with a 1.89 ERA, his best in any month in 2011. In 19 innings over three starts in July, Fraser has struck out 14, walked 11 and given up just 13 hits for a .200 batting average against, also his lowest of any month. Fraser is 9th in the SAL in innings pitched (102). Last year with short-season Brooklyn, Fraser struck out 39 batters in 31.1 innings pitched, a rate of 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. This year, he’s fanned 63 in 102 innings, a rate 5.6 K/9. Fraser struck out 5.1 batters/9 IP in the first half (41 K/72 IP), but is up to 6.6 K/9 in the second half (22 K/30 IP). With the Cyclones last year, working exclusively out of the bullpen, 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 7-8 when Fraser starts, and have supported him with 2.73 runs per game (41 runs/15 games), not just the lowest mark of any Savannah starter, but the only one below 3.29 runs/game.
Hot Harris: Alonzo Harris rides a personal season-best seven-game hitting streak over which time he is 9-for-25 (.360) with a home run, a walk, four strikeouts, two runs and five RBI.
Close Calls: The Gnats and Power played two one-run games and a two-run affair. The Gnats are 16-4 in one-run games at home and 19-12 overall. Savannah is 36-22 in games decided by two runs or less, and 28-9 at home in such contests.
Alumni Update: Friday night, CF Matt den Dekker was 1-for-4 with a home run for AA Binghamton. It was his fourth home run in his last three games… Saturday, OF Juan Lagares, who was leading the Florida State league in batting average as part of a .339/.381/.495 (AVG/OBP/SLG) line for advanced-a St. Lucie, was promoted to AA Binghamton.
Low Scoring: Last night was the 53rd time in 97 games this year that Gnats pitching has allowed three runs or fewer. Savannah is 44-9 (.830) in such contests, accounting for 78% of the team’s wins this season.
Strong Arms: The Gnats still lead the SAL in ERA at 3.17, 43 hundredths better than second-best Lakewood. The Gnats also lead the League in WHIP at 1.22, and have allowed the fewest hits (745) - 18 fewer than second-best Hickory. The Asheville Tourists have allowed 1001 hits, most in the League, 266 more than the Gnats. The Gnats are fifth in the SAL in strikeouts (758).
Vs. Lexington: The Gnats are 4-5 against the Lexington Legends in 2011, 2-3 at home and 2-2 on the road. The two teams split a series in Lexington last week.
from team press release
No comments:
Post a Comment