The Trops return home for an eight-game homestand against Heartland Division teams. The first team in is the Omaha Cyclones led by former Hawaii farmhand Luis Mendoza.
“I have a lot of regret for trading him in 2043. Kyuichi Mori was involved in that mistake too. He’s matured and now plays in Charlotte. I’m an idiot.”, lamented Hawaii GM Jim Walker.
The Tropics take the series opener on the strength of a five-run 3rd inning that was highlighted by a Grand Slam off the bat of Felipe Hernandez. It was a laser over the right field wall to put the Trops up 5-0. Manny Ortiz and two relievers took care of the rest as Hawaii wins 5-1.
Ortiz pitched six innings allowing a run on seven hits and a couple of walks. He fanned five batters on his way to improving his record to 6-3 with a 2.65 ERA. Luis Perez followed up with two scoreless innings and two Ks then Phil Thompson with one scoreless and a K.
In Game 2, the Hawaii offense unleashed an 8-run barrage to bury the Cyclones early and go up 2-0 in the series. The Trops struck in the 1st inning for two runs on a two-run shot by Russ McHaney. In the 3rd, Hawaii sent 11 batters to the plate and scored 8 runs on just 6 hits to go up 10-1. McHaney added his 2nd homer of the day in the 6th to put Hawaii up 11-1. Omaha bounced back with two meaningless runs in the 8th off relievers Jorge Santos and Bill Williams. Semih Gurani earned the win after throwing 71 pitches in five innings of work allowing just a run on five hits while walking three. He struck out two as he improves to 5-2 with a 1.37 ERA.
Pitching Coach Anibal Aguirre said, “We’ve upped Gurani’s pitch count a little because he has been throwing well. As soon as we see some mistakes because of exhaustion we may lower it back down.”
Hawaii wins 11-3.
The Cyclones tamed the Hawaii offense to get a win over the Trops in Game 3. Hawaii’s offense mustered just one unearned run on 9 hits and four walks as they stranded 29 batters. Adhyapayana Mehta led the team with three hits in four at bats. Hawsii starter Elvin Hilliard pitched well but fell victim to a bad offensive day. He allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out five batters as he falls to 7-3 with a 3.69 ERA. Phil Thompson pitched two scoreless innings with a couple of Ks.
Omaha wins 2-1.
The Trops and Cyclones offenses went wild in the series finale but Hawaii hand the upperhand scoring three in the 8th to go up 8-7. Juan Martinez got the first out of the inning after a groundout but was pulled for a fresh Troy ‘Teddy Bear’ Reynolds. The Teddy Bear was a bit wild as he never looked confortable as he gave up four runs on three hits and walk in just 1/3 of an inning. The offense couldn’t overcome that as they go down 1-2-3 in the 9th as the Cyclones earn the series split.
C Frank McMillan hit his 9th homer of the season with a two-run shot in the 8th inning. Angelo Lucchesi had a run scoring double in the 8th and a run scoring triple in the 5th. Rookie SS Julian Rivera doubled in two runs and scored two runs while going 2 for 4 at the plate.
Omaha wins 11-8.
The Trops and Cyclones split the four-game series.
Pacific Division Standing as of June 7, 2058
