Savannah 10, Augusta 2

Do you guys remember when I told you that Gabriel Ynoa was pretty good? Well…surprise, surprise. He was pretty good tonight. Ynoa dazzled over nearly eight strong innings of work for Savannah and permitted just two earned runs to cross the plate in Game One of this playoff series. He allowed seven hits, struck out four, and made me look like a pretty smart guy. Ynoa gave up five of his seven hits over his final two frames, the seventh inning and eighth, and that’s where the runs crossed the plate. In fact, Paul Sewald allowed an inherited runner to score coming out of the bullpen. So putting things in perspective, he shut down a playoff team on the road for six innings while allowing just two hits. That’s my guy right there. Sewald went on to finish the game for the Sand Gnats.

The Savannah offense was kind enough to spot him a boatload of runs, however, and staked him to ten runs. Maikis De La Cruz lined an RBI hit in the third inning and Phillip Evans went deep in the sixth, but the real damage was a six-run fifth inning for the Sand Gnats. Four hits in the inning, combined with two walks and a hit by pitch, led to some serious damage for the Gnats. Another four-hit attack in the top of the ninth gave the Gnats two more runs. Stefan Sabol did some huge damage on the night with four RBI.

This was a great all-around victory for Savannah, who take a crucial 1-0 lead in this three game series. Steven Matz will take the mound in Game Two for the Sand Gnats on Friday when they return to Savannah.

Key Stats

Maikis De La Cruz: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R

Stefan Sabol: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 4 RBI, 1 R

Phillip Evans: 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R

Brandon Nimmo: 2-for-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R

Gabriel Ynoa: 7.2 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

Paul Sewald: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 4 K