The Savannah Sand Gnats defeated the Augusta GreenJackets at a rate of two out of three over the course of 24 regular-season meetings.
Now the Gnats will try to do the same this week in the Class A South Atlantic League playoffs.
Savannah opens its best-of-three Southern Division Championship Series at 7:05 p.m. tonight in Augusta. The teams will play at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Grayson Stadium and, if necessary, at 6:05 p.m. Saturday in Savannah.
The survivor will face the winner of the Northern Division series between Hagerstown and West Virginia in the league’s best-of-five championship series.
“We’ve been lucky most of the outcomes,” Sand Gnats manager Luis Rojas said of his squad’s 16-8 advantage over the GreenJackets. “They’re tough competitors.
“I think they’re a really good team. They play really clean baseball. The tightest games we’ve played against any team this season has been against them.”
After so many games, the teams are very familiar with each other. It’s also true that the GreenJackets fared better against their division foes at the end (winning three of the last five) — when the teams could fit in some baseball around the raindrops and four postponements. While Savannah owned the best division record in the first half (43-26 to 38-32), Augusta had the best in the second half (43-24 to 35-34).
“Our record’s not as great in the second half but we’re playing good baseball,” Savannah shortstop Phillip Evans said.
The Sand Gnats could point to a dip in talent after midseason promotions for All-Star first baseman Jayce Boyd, catcher Kevin Plawecki and reliever Bret Mitchell as well as starting pitcher Rainy Lara. But the team still has talent, such as a trio of All-Stars in center fielder Brandon Nimmo, reliever Beck Wheeler (19 saves) and right-hander Gabriel Ynoa, the league’s Pitcher of the Year.
The 20-year-old Ynoa (15-4, 2.72 ERA, 106 strikeouts, 16 walks, 135 2/3 innings) is slated to start Game 1. Left-hander Steven Matz (5-6, 2.62, 121, 38, 106 1/3) starts Game 2 and right-hander Luis Cessa (8-4, 3.12, 124, 19, 130) goes if there’s a Game 3.
The three are the team’s strongest starters. Having locked up a playoff berth early allowed the team to better manipulate the pitching rotation — through rainouts and even doubleheaders last Friday and Saturday.
“We have everything set since like a month ago to have those three pitch 1-2-3,” Rojas said.
The manager cautioned against characterizing the team as throttling down the intensity in the season’s second half after pocketing a playoff berth.
“We got eliminated early in the second half, but we’re still going after it each game,” he said. “Each game is the same game as it’s going to be in the playoffs, so we never slow down.”
Nimmo said as professionals, the players have the mentality to try their best to win each game. They’re competitive people.
“If you put us in tiddlywinks, we’re going to try to win the game,” said Nimmo, 20. “You’re trying to compete in everything. But there is that reassurance in the back of your mind that you are already in the playoffs. So this (second half) is more about let’s work on stuff and get better on things. So when the playoffs come and that needs to happen, it’ll just be instinct and you won’t have to think about it.”
The playoffs are finally here, after the team clinched a spot on June 14. Much more recently, the Gnats got a boost from a trade their parent organization, the New York Mets, made last week with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Mets obtained West Virginia second baseman Dilson Herrera and assigned him to Savannah. Herrera, 19, is one of the top prospects in the minor leagues and has made an immediate positive impact as the new cleanup hitter in the lineup.
“Getting Herrera has put like a breath of fresh air in all of our hitters,” Gnats pitching coach Frank Viola said Saturday as the team was in the midst of a five-game winning streak. “Our dugout’s alive again.
“Sometimes fresh blood really does make a difference. Having Herrera here and knowing what type of player he is, is really a great feeling.”