Na Koa Ikaika Post Back-to-Back Victories
By Fred Guzman
Na Koa Ikaika put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season by erupting for seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 13-6 win over the Chico Outlaws on Sunday.
The recent wins improved Na Koa’s record to 5-6. Two more games versus Chico are set for tonight and tomorrow at Maehara Stadium before Na Koa go on the road for the first time, traveling to Yuma.
On the big-league front, Shane Victorino is off the disabled list and back in center field for the Phillies.
Victorino, who had been out with a strained right hamstring, returned to the lineup Friday and went 0-for-5 in a 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh and went 1-for-4 and scored a run Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Pirates.
Victorino went 2-for-5, scored a run and drve in another on Sunday, helping the Phils end a four-game skid with a 7-3 victory to open up a three-game lead over Atlanta in the National League East.
Kurt Suzuki’s Oakland Athletics are in the midst of a six-game skid after being swept in back-to-back series by the Yankees and the Red Sox. Suzuki went 0-for-3 and scored a run in yesterday’s 6-3 loss in Boston. The A’s are last in the AL West, seven back of the first-place Texas Rangers.
Hawaii’s other big-leaguer, Brandon League, registered his 16th save for surging Seattle in a 9-6 win over Tampa Bay. Following a dismal start, the M’s have pulled into second place and within 2.5 games of Texas.