Gnats Lose 1-0 on Walk-Off Walk in the 10th | Astromets Mind

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Gnats Lose 1-0 on Walk-Off Walk in the 10th



May 12, 2014


Teams
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

R
H
E
LOB
Savannah
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
4
0
5
Charleston
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1

1
5
0
8


The Highlights:
Pitchers
Kevin McGowan – 6 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 SO, 96 pitches, 65 strikes (68%), 23 batters faced, 4 groundouts, 6 fly outs
Akeel Morris – 2 IP, 4 SO, HBP, 29 pitches, 20 strikes (69%), 7 batters faced, 1 groundout
Jaron Long – 7 IP, 3 H, 5 SO, 86 pitches, 58 strikes (67%), 24 batters faced, 9 groundouts, 4 fly outs
Rony Bautista – 2.1 IP, H, BB, 2 SO, 40 pitches, 25 strikes (62.5%), 9 batters faced, 1 groundout, 1 fly out
Chris Smith (W, 1-0) – 0.2 IP, 2 SO, 10 pitches, 7 strikes (70%)

Batters
Jeff McNeil – 3-4
Victor Cruzado – 1-4, 3B, SO
Aaron Judge – 1-3, 2 BB, SO
Jose Rosario – 1-1, R, 2B


Play By Play

Recap:
            With their major league counterparts slugging it out in New York, the Sand Gnats and RiverDogs gave the fans in attendance a pitchers duel. Sand Gnats starter Kevin McGowan extended his scoreless streak to 18.2 IP with his strong performance, but he was matched scoreless inning for scoreless inning by an even more efficient Jaron Long. Both teams would get multiple strong innings from their first reliever out of the pen, but the Gnats would blink first in the bottom of the 10th, as reliever John Mincone gave up a double and then walked the next three batters (one intentionally) to end the game. This was a quick, clean game that was fun to watch.

            For the Gnats, their offense failed to generate scoring opportunities all game, with Victor Cruzado the only base runner that advanced beyond 1B, which he did with his one out triple in the 5th. McGowan would work around multiple base runners in the 2nd and 3rd innings before retiring the final 11 RiverDogs he faced, four via the strikeout. Reliever Akeel Morris would pick up right where McGowan left it in the 7th, only allowing one base runner on an errant pitch that hit Brandon Thomas – it apparently would knock him out of the game after the inning, hopefully just due to a big bruise and sore leg for Thomas and nothing serious. His fastball has got to be a plus pitch, as he was sitting 95 MPH and locating well, other than the HBP.
            For the RiverDogs, Jaron Long was in control of his game, pitching a clean inning in the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th. The big lefty Rony Bautista came in to start the 8th and looked impressive over his 2+ innings of work. Jose Rosario would come in to replace Thomas and finally provide the spark this game needed in the 10th. With two outs and the Gnats guarding the line for a no-doubles defense, Rosario pulled a hard grounder that got by the 3B glove side and rolled towards the corner, allowing Rosario to pull into 2B with a double. After an intentional walk, the Gnats would stay with Mincone for the next two batters, who would walk in the games only run.
            The loss drops the Gnats to 24-11, which is still best in their division (4.5 games ahead of the RiverDogs), and 2nd best overall in the SAL. Looking ahead, Savannah aims for a series split Tuesday night at 7:05 PM ET, as they send Ricky Knapp opposite RiverDogs starter Luis Severino.
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