Gabriel Ynoa added another stellar pitching performance to a season of gems as the Sand Gnats’ right-hander beat visiting Charleston 1-0 Tuesday and improved to 13-4 on the year.
Ynoa, a 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic, has the most wins in the South Atlantic League. He lowered his ERA from 2.95 to 2.78 by shutting down the RiverDogs over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five, scattered three hits and didn’t walk a batter.
Savannah (23-18 in the second half and 66-44 overall) scored in the bottom of the sixth when Albert Cordero led off with a double to center. Dimas Ponce laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Cordero to third, and second baseman Jorge Rivero singled to left to drive Cordero home with the game’s only run.
The Sand Gnat bullpen made sure that run stood up for Ynoa. Righty Tim Peterson entered the game and fanned the only batter he faced. Hunter Carnevale allowed two hits in his one inning of work but struck out a pair to keep the shutout intact.
Closer Beck Wheeler shut the door with a strong ninth inning — striking out a pair and allowing one hit as he notched his 14th save of the season while lowering his ERA to 1.91. It was the second straight shutout for the Sand Gnats, who downed Charleston 6-0 Monday night behind a 12-strikeout performance in eight innings of work from Luis Cessa.
The Gnats conclude their series with Charleston tonight with a 7:05 start. Savannah starts a four-game home series with Hickory on Thursday night.
Chrlestn ab r h bi Savannah ab r h bi
Cave cf 4 0 1 0 Rivero 2b 3 0 1 1
Gumbs 2b 4 0 0 0 Nimmo cf 3 0 0 0
Bird 1b 4 0 0 0 M D L Crz lf 3 0 0 0
Leonora lf 4 0 2 0 Frenzel 1b 3 0 0 0
Culver ss 4 0 1 0 Pina rf 3 0 1 0
Oh rf 4 0 0 0 Harrison dh 3 0 0 0
Nunez dh 3 0 0 0 Rynolds 3b 3 0 0 0
Wilson c 3 0 1 0 Cordero c 3 1 2 0
Afenir 3b 2 0 1 0 Ponce ss 2 0 0 0
Totals 32 0 6 0 Totals 26 1 4 1
Charleston 000 000 000 – 0
Savannah 000 001 00x – 1
E—Reynolds. LOB—Charleston 6, Savannah 2. DP—Charleston, Savannah. 2B—Cordero. SAC—Afenir, Ponce. SB—Pina.
Charleston IP H R ER BB SO Gerritse (L, 8-6) 6 4 1 1 0 6
Varnadore 2 0 0 0 0 0
Savannah IP H R ER BB SO
Ynoa (W, 13-4) 6 2/3 3 0 0 0 5
Peterson 1/3 0 0 0 0 1
Carnevale 1 2 0 0 0 2
Wheeler(S, 14) 1 1 0 0 0 2
T—2:06. A—1,555.