The Hawaii Tropics complete their home stand with a three-games series against the Valencia Stars at ‘Iolani Palace. The Trops lead the season series 6-3.
Game 1- The Tropics offense woke up and put 10 runs on the board, but the bullpen gave up 4 runs in extras. Hawaii closer/stopper Francisco Salgado gave up the lead and took the loss allowing three runs (two earned) on a hit and struck out two. He hit the first hitter, gave up a single, then had an error behind him allowing a run. Bill Phillips relieved Salgado and gave up a three-run homer that put the game out of reach. Salgado falls to 2-3 with a 2.66 ERA.
Salgado took the blame saying, “I had a chance to help us out of this slump. I failed.”
Troy ‘Teddy Bear’ Reynolds didn’t get the job done either as the starter gave up eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and two walks. He gave up three homers and struck out three batters in just three innings of work.
Backup catcher Frank McMillan is making his case to be the starter again. He was 3 for 5 with two majestic homers. He hit a two-run blast in the 2nd inning and hit another two-run shot in the 6th. He scored two runs and drove in four. Karunamaya Makarand was 2 for 4 with a solo homer in the 8th. Mike Campbell was 1 for 1 with a two-run homer in the 9th inning.
Valencia wins 14-10.
Game 2- The Tropics drop their 8th consecutive game as their offense strands 24 baserunners in the loss. Each batter had a least one hit with the exception of Angelo Lucchesi who was 0 for 5. Adhyapayana Mehta, Mitch Wareham, Pedro Huerta, Makarand and Ramao ‘Massacre’ Saturnino each had two hits. Saturnino doubled (19), tripled (4), scored a run and had an RBI.
Hawaii Starter Shinsaku Ine pitched 5.1 innings surrendering three runs on five hits and a walk. He fanned four batters in the loss as he falls to 7-10 with a 5.13 ERA. The bullpen was awful again allowing five runs on six hits and two walks in 3.2 innings.
Valencia wins 8-3.
Game 3- It’s over. Not without some drama for the Tropics as they get a shot in the arm by Will Patterson in extras. Patterson hit a walk off solo homer off Stars reliever Bill Constable. Constable, two seasons removed from finishing 2nd in Nebraska voting, is a shadow of his former self. His stuff is lackluster, but his attitude is still one of the worst in the league. He threw three fastballs to Patterson who parked the 3rd one in the left field seats. As soon as the ball made solid contact with Patterson’s bat, he strolled off the mound and into the visitors’ dugout.
Patterson said, “He beat me to the baseline, and I had to avoid running into him. I told him ‘Thanks’ though.”
The Hawaii offense scored 10 runs again but also stranded 32 baserunners while putting up 20 hits. They walked two times and struck out three.
Hawaii Manager Alonso Alonso said, “We’re just not getting timely hits.”
Mehta was 3 for 5 with a walk, scored two runs and had an RBI. Mitch Wareham was 2 for 5 with two doubles (26), two RBI and scored a run. Shafiq Zahir was 3 for 6 with a solo homer in the 7th and played all three outfield positions. Katsumi Matsumoto was 1 for 5 with a double (25), scored a run and drove in two. The hero, Patterson, was 2 for 5 with the game winner.
On the mound, Peter Dean struggled through 3.2 innings allowing three runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out three in the no decision. Salgado failed again allowing four runs to the Stars in the 9th to send the game to extras. Bill Phillips earned th win with a scoreless inning. He gave up a hit and struck out two batters as he improves to 2-2 with a 2.26 ERA.
Hawaii wins 10-9.
The Stars win the series 2-1.
