ROME — Savannah got another excellent outing from starter Gabriel Ynoa Tuesday night, but the Sand Gnat offense didn’t offer much support in a 2-1 loss to Rome.
Ynoa had another solid performance — allowing just one run in six innings of work. He struck out four without walking a batter and allowed three hits. The right-hander from the Dominican Republic had a no-decision, and his record stands at 13-4 for the season. He lowered his ERA to 2.71.
Reliever Wanel Mesa was tagged with the loss, his first of the season, after giving up a run in the bottom of the eighth.
Rome center fielder Daniel Carroll led off the inning with a double to right field and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Felix Marte. He scored on an RBI by Jose Peraza, who reached base on a fielder’s choice. It was Peraza’s second RBI of the night. He drove in Tyler Tewell with a triple off Ynoa in the third inning.
Savannah scored its run in the fifth inning. Nelfi Zapata led off with a single to center and moved to second on a groundout by Dimas Ponce. Jorge Rivero’s RBI single to center brought Zapata home with the Gnats’ only run of the game.
Rome starter Mauricio Cabrera battled through the first six innings. Cabrera gave up one run. He struck out five, while allowing four hits and walking three, but he was not involved in the decision. Rome reliever Matt Chaffee picked up his first victory of the year with two innings of scoreless relief. He struck out three and walked one without allowing a hit. Jeremy Fitzgerald picked up his first save of the season by pitching a perfect ninth inning.
The Sand Gnats (25-22, 68-48) continue their three-game series at Rome tonight with a 7 p.m. start. The Gnats remain on the road until Aug. 23 when they host West Virginia.
Savannah ab r h bi Rome ab r h bi
Rivero 2b 4 0 1 1 Peraza ss 4 0 1 2
Nimmo cf 2 0 1 0 Heffley 2b 4 0 0 0
DeLaCrz lf 3 0 0 0 Garcia dh 4 0 0 0
Frenzel 3b 4 0 1 0 Sanchez 3b 3 0 1 0
Pina rf 3 0 0 0 Franco 3b 3 0 0 0
Harrison 1b 4 0 0 0 Meneses lf 3 0 0 0
Zapata dh 4 1 1 0 Tewell c 3 1 1 0
Cordero c 4 0 0 0 Carroll cf 3 1 1 0
Ponce ss 3 0 0 0 Marte rf 2 0 0 0
Totals 31 1 4 1 Totals 29 2 4 2
Savannah 000 010 000 – 1
Rome 001 000 01x – 2
E—Rivero, Cordero. DP—Rome 1. LOB—Rome 4, Savannah 7. 2B—Carroll. 3B—Peraza. SB—Pina, Marte, Peraza.
Savannah IP H R ER BB SO
Ynoa 6 3 1 1 0 4
Mesa(L, 1-1) 2 1 1 1 0 3
Rome IP H R ER BB SO
Cabrera 6 4 1 1 3 5
Chaffee(W, 2-2) 2 0 0 0 1 3
Fitzgerald(S, 1) 1 0 0 0 0 1
WP—Chaffee. T—2:15. A—1,407.