By KEVIN JAKAHI Tribune-Herald sports writer ADVERTISING As an independent professional baseball team, you know it’s not your night when the pitching staff issues 10 free passes (six walks and four hit batters) in a Pacific Association game that’s
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
As an independent professional baseball team, you know it’s not your night when the pitching staff issues 10 free passes (six walks and four hit batters) in a Pacific Association game that’s supposed to be a warm welcome home.
Returning to the comforts of Wong Stadium on Wednesday, the Hawaii Stars, weary off a six-game road trip in Japan, suffered that indignity and more in a 5-0 loss to Na Koa Ikaika Maui before 75 people at a pleasant night at the ballpark.
“We got hurt early with our pitching,” Hawaii manager Garry Templeton II said. “We had too many free passes. We had too many walks and 10 free passes. When you give up that many, you don’t usually win games.”
Hawaii (22-35-1) and Maui (39-22) continue a five-game series at 5:35 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and at 1:35 p.m. at Wong in the final homestand.
The Stars will start Dallas Mahan (3-2, 2.79 ERA) on Thursday, Onan Masaoka (2-5, 6.09 ERA) Friday, Ronnie Loeffler (1-3, 3.52 ERA) Saturday and Matt Stropoli (3-3, 5.94 ERA) Sunday.
Na Koa, which was Hawaii’s traveling partner, will start Eri “Knuckle Princess” Yoshida (2-3, 6.05 ERA) on Saturday.
Both ballclubs returned on Tuesday. Maui manager Jeff Brooks’ team spent eight hours on a bus and eight hours on the flight back, and was “still on Osaka time and running on fumes.”
However, his guys looked fresh and so did Chad Blackwell, a side-wheeling right-hander who fired a three-hitter, walked two and struck out six on 92 efficient pitches.
Hawaii’s offense was left back in its luggage in Japan. The Stars grounded into three double plays. They mustered three singles, and nothing more.
Blackwell’s pitches dart and dive across the plate, away from right-handed bats and into the happy zone of left-handed pull hitters. It figured that Hawaii’s three lefty bats — Katsuaki Furuki, Mitch Levier and Tyler Krobetzky — might chew him up.
The trio went 2 for 10. Reggie Taylor batted 1 for 4. Everyone else got stuck with a hitless collar.
John Holley gave up three runs in two innings and took the loss. Roberto Feliciano’s expiration date of effective pitching was stamped at two innings. In his third inning of work, he allowed two runs.
Bryan Escanio pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Devon Ramirez mopped up against Maui with three scoreless innings, but not before Jeremy Williams torched Hawaii’s offerings.
The former farmhand of the Texas Rangers doesn’t get cheated on his hacks. The big fella (6 feet 2 and 220 pounds) showed good strike-zone judgement, too, swinging at strikes and disregarding balls. Williams went 3 for 4.
“We’re still on Osaka time, but we’re excited because we can see the playoffs,” Brooks said. “As you know, it’s the hottest team that wins (in the playoffs). We want to get hot at the right time.”
Second-place Maui is seven games back of the San Rafael Pacifics (45-14). Hawaii, in third place, is 22 games back.
The Japan journey wasn’t all that fruitful for the two clubs. Hawaii went 0-5-1 while Maui was 2-4.
When his team doesn’t score, Brooks has simple advice.
“You have to keep plugging away,” he said. “It’s like football on any given day. We played the worst team in Japan and they whipped our butts. We played the best teams and we whipped their butts.”
Hawaii’s manager had the same practical approach.
“We have to pick up our bats and bring them tomorrow,” G2 said.
