AUGUSTA – What was billed as a potential duel between starting pitchers Wednesday night became the Gabriel Ynoa show.
The Savannah Sand Gnats rocked Martin Agosta and rode Ynoa to a 10-2 win over the Augusta GreenJackets in Game 1 of the best-of-three South Atlantic League Southern Division Championship Series at Lake Olmstead Stadium.
Ynoa gave up two runs on seven hits in 7 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out four. The right-hander induced seven swinging strikes and 12 ground balls while throwing 92 pitches — 65 for strikes.
Ynoa, the SAL Pitcher of the Year, used a solid three-pitch mix to keep the GreenJackets off balance. The changeup was consistently major league quality with good separation from the fastball, while the slider was above average and the fastball was thrown for strikes. The mix resulted in one run and two hits through six innings for Augusta.
“We saw tonight what we’ve seen the entire season,” Sand Gnats manager Luis Rojas said. “He commands, is very confident in his stuff, excellent tempo, keeps the defense on their toes, and that’s the same thing we saw tonight.”
Agosta allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings, walking three and striking out three. The right-hander’s velocity appeared to go down as the outing progressed, and his stuff went flat during Savannah’s six-run fifth inning.
Agosta’s slider lost feel late and his command wavered in the final frame. Savannah scored seven times through five innings, three on a bases-clearing double by Stefan Sabol.
“He threw the ball OK,” GreenJackets manager Mike Goff said. “He got to a couple two-strike counts and left the ball up in the zone and got hurt with it. He just didn’t put hitters away.”
Sabol went 3 for 5 with a double and four RBIs to lead Savannah. Right fielder Maiki De La Cruz went 3 for 5 with a double and two RBIs. Six of the Sand Gnats’ nine batters had two or more hits.
The GreenJackets received three singles from Ben Turner. Right fielder Chuckie Jones and third baseman Mitch Delfino each had two hits and one RBI.
The GreenJackets will travel to Savannah for a must-win Game 2 on Friday at 7:05. If necessary, the teams will play the decisive game Saturday.
“A loss is a loss in the playoffs,” Goff said. “We’ve been very resilient all season long bouncing back. We played very well on the road, and I expect these guys to go there Friday and come out swinging the bats and win a couple ballgames to keep this thing going.”
Savannah ab r h bi Augusta ab r h bi
Pina dh 5 1 2 0 Payne lf 4 0 0 0
Nimmo cf 4 1 2 1 Robles 2b 4 0 1 0
De La Cruz rf 5 1 3 2 Delfino 3b 4 1 2 1
Herrera 2b 4 2 1 0 Rapp 1b 4 0 0 0
Frenzel 1b 5 1 0 0 Turner c 4 0 3 0
Sabol lf 5 1 3 4 Jones rf 4 0 2 1
Reynolds 3b 5 0 2 1 Relaford ss 4 0 0 0
Cordero c 5 1 2 1 Moreno dh 3 0 0 0
Evans ss 4 2 1 1 Galindo cf 3 1 1 0
Totals 42 10 16 10 Totals 34 2 9 2
Savannah 001 061 002—10
Augusta 000 000 110—2
E—Relaford. DP—Savannah 1, Augusta 2. LOB—Savannah 9, Augusta 6. 2B—Sabol, De La Cruz. HR—Evans.
SAVANNAH IP H R ER BB SO
Ynoa W,1-0 7 2/3 7 2 2 1 4
Sewald 1 1/3 2 0 0 0 4
AUGUSTA IP H R ER BB SO
Agosta L,0-1 4 1/3 5 6 6 3 3
Okert 2/3 2 1 1 0 1
Dunnington 1 3 1 1 0 0
Kurrasch 2 2 0 0 0 0
Mizenko 1 4 2 1 0 0
WP—Okert. HBP—Evans (by Agosta). T—2:42. A—1,211.