Division Series Game 1 - Wednesday - 7:05
LHP Angel Cuan (10-3, 3.56) vs. LHP Mike Kickham (5-10, 4.11)
Lake Olmstead Stadium, Augusta, GA
Radio: News/Talk630 and sandgnats.com
Tonight: The Gnats begin the best-of-three Southern Division Championship series in Augusta, GA against the GreenJackets, SAL affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The series shifts to Savannah for game two on Friday evening, and if necessary, game three on Saturday.
Vs. Augusta: The Gnats were 15-6 against the GreenJackets in the regular season, 9-2 at home at Historic Grayson Stadium and 6-4 on the road. Savannah was 9-5 against Augusta in the second half when the two teams played each other 14 times in 40 games to start the half.
Now Pitching: LHP Angel Cuan, who finished 10th in the SAL in ERA (3.56) in the regular season, will take the ball for the Gnats in game one. Cuan threw at least five innings in each of his final 13 starts and at least six innings in 11 of his last 13 starts. His 10 wins led the Gnats and was tied for fourth in the SAL. In three starts and two relief appearances against the GreenJackets, Cuan was 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA (3 ER/19.2 IP) with 18 strikeouts, two walks and an opponents’ batting average of .179 (12 H/67 AB). Cuan has walked just 16 batters in 124 innings, a rate of 1.16 BB/9. Last year, Cuan was second only to teammate Yohan Almonte in the New-York Penn League with a 2.03 ERA. He was fifth in the NYP in strikeouts (64) and fourth in innings pitched (79.2) and fewest baserunners/9 IP (9.94). Cuan went five innings or more in 13 of his 14 starts in Brooklyn in 2010. Cuan pitched for his native Panama in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The Gnats are 11-3 when Cuan starts and have supported him with 4.71 runs per game (66 runs/14 games).
Playoff History: The Gnats 2010 playoff run was brief as the team was swept two games to none in the first round by the Greenville Drive. Before 2010, the Gnats’ last trip to the SAL playoffs was 1996, when the Gnats won the League championship. The Savannah Cardinals won back-to-back SAL titles in 1993 and 1994.
Strong Finishes: Albert Cordero led the Gnats, among all players with at least five games played, in batting average (.286). … He hit .330/.373/.439 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with nine doubles, two triples and four homer runs in 59 games in the second half… From August 1, through the end of the regular season, Darrell Ceciliani hit .304/.409/.411 in his final 29 games and was successful on 10 of 11 attempts stealing bases… Rafael Fernandez finished the regular season on a five-game hitting streak over which time he was 11-for-19 (.579) with a double, three triples, three RBI, two walks and a strikeout.
More Head-to-Head: In 21 games against the GreenJackets this year, the Gnats hit .259/.338/.341 and scored 4.8 runs per game (94 runs/21 games). By contrast, Gnats pitching held the ‘Jackets to a .213/.295/.285 line and 2.8 runs per game (59 runs/21 games).
Location Matters: The Gnats were a league-best 48-22 at home, thanks in part to a 22-6 record in one-run games. On the road, Savannah was 31-38 and 4-14 in one-run games. The ‘Jackets were 39-30 at home and a nearly identical 31-39 at home.
Strong Arms: The Gnats finished the regular season as the top pitching staff in the SAL in ERA (3.26), WHIP (1.22) and fewest hits allowed (1070). The Gnats were fifth in strikeouts (1058) and have allowed the sixth fewest walks (428).
What a Difference a Year Makes: Of the 11 pitchers who were active from last year’s Gnats’ playoff team, only two are still with the team: RHP Taylor Whitenton and LHP Brandon Sage. Of the 14 position players active for last year’s playoff team, four are Gnats for the 2011 playoffs: catchers Albert Cordero and Juan Torres, third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez and infielder Luis Nieves. Cordero, Rodriguez, Torres and Nieves combined to play 67 regular season games in 2010, a total exceeded individually by all four players except Torres in 2011. Collectively, the four position players combined for 347 regular season games as Gnats in 2011.
Playoff Schedule: Game two will be Friday, September 9, for game two. Game three, if necessary, will be held Saturday, September 10. The best-of-five SAL Championship Series will begin at the home of the Northern Division team on Monday, September 12, returning to Savannah, if the Gnats advance, on Thursday, September 15.
From team press release
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