[jksander]

MAY 21, 1963 . . . This is the last of our rivals we’ll face for the first time on the road, and we have Manny Hernandez (6-2, 3.88 ERA, 60.1 IP, 32 K’s, 1.49 WHIP) ready to go against Mahjoub Andongwisye (4-6, 7.94 ERA, 79.1 IP, 21 K’s, 2.07 WHIP). This place has an interesting layout ... a short fence at left and right, but a giant green wall and raised building with shrubbery at center field. Should be fun to see how balls play off that bad boy! Logan Holmes hit a line-drive RBI single in the top of the fourth to put us on the board, leading the Roosters 1-0. Cantimori hit an RBI double to add a run in the top of the fifth, but the Roosters got going in the bottom of the inning, an RBI triple getting them on the board and a wild pitch allowing the runner at third to get in to home and tie it. Moments later they took the lead on an RBI single, giving us work to do in the back half of the game. Castro hit a triple in the top of the seventh, and with the bases loaded Logan Holmes hit an RBI single to tie it at 3-3, and Fernandez got us the lead with a sac-fly that drove in our fourth run. Then, in the top of the eighth, Victor Santos made Havana Hunters history, hitting our club’s first ever grand slam home run into the left field seats, turning this into an 8-3 blowout! It was his second homer of the season. We pulled an exhausted Hernandez from the mound heading into the ninth, sending in Aguirre to protect the five-run lead, and he got us through it perfectly as we held tough to win this one 8-3.

Hernandez is now 3-0 as a Hunter, allowing 12 hits, two walks and three runs with four strikeouts over eight innings to keep his post-trade ERA at 1.50. Aguirre, meanwhile, had a solid inning, with a strikeout and no runs scoring to improve his ERA to 4.50. They outhit us 12-11, but the grand slam sealed it. Cantimori hit three times, walked once and scored three runs with an RBI, while Santos drove in four runs with the one amazing hit.

After the game, Hernandez finalized his new contract, which will pay him more than $5,500 over the next nine seasons if he decides not to test free agency after the 1968 season with a player opt out. If he stays, he’s here until 1972, when he’ll get a ninth season if he meets a 150-inning vesting option. Great pitching is hard to find, and we’re glad to have him here for the long term.
 
MAY 22, 1963 . . . Ludovic Peltier (5-6, 3.60 ERA, 100.0 IP, 56 K’s, 1.42 WHIP) started game two in Pinar del Rio, facing Luis Moncada (5-10, 1 SV, 5.14 ERA, 110.1 IP, 54 K’s, 1.74 WHIP). Peltier belted in a run with a single in the top of the second, and Gonzalez added an RBI single to get us out to an early 2-0 lead. We loaded the bases in the top of the seventh but we were unable to add to the lead, doing it again in the top of the eighth as well but coming up empty then too. In the bottom of the ninth they got runners on the corners, and loaded the bases with a walk on just one out. But Peltier struck out their center fielder, and a groundout to first preserved the shutout as we held them back 2-0!

Peltier improved to 6-6 with a 3.30 ERA, allowing just four hits and five walks while striking out six. We outhit them 7-4, led by Gonzalez, who hit three times and batted in a run as our leadoff batter. Peltier batted in the other run, with Colon and Holmes scoring on the ground.

MAY 23, 1963 . . . Juan Ortiz (2-3, 1 SV, 6.07 ERA, 46.0 IP, 30 K’s, 1.85 WHIP) started for us today, facing Juan Fernandez (6-5, 5.96 ERA, 74.0 IP, 22 K’s, 1.80 WHIP) in our final game at Pinar del Rio. We got on the board in the top of the second thanks to a bobbled catch for an error at center field, and we blew them up from there, heading into the bottom of the inning leading 4-0! Ortiz locked in from there, and wouldn’t give an inch, and we still had a four run shutout going heading into the seventh inning stretch. We were unable to add any runs down the stretch, but the Roosters couldn’t get anything going at all and we stifled them to win 4-0 and complete the road sweep!

Ortiz improved to 3-3 with a 5.07 ERA, allowing four hits, five walks and six strikeouts as we shut the Roosters out. We outhit them 7-4, led by Jonathan Gonzalez who hit twice with a run and an RBI, while Victor Diaz put up a hit, two walks and an RBI. We turned four double plays as a team this evening, stopping every rally attempt in its tracks!

Next up we play three nights in Santa Clara against the 23-22 Saints, as we hope to maintain our momentum -- the Cubanos lost two in a row to close out their three-game road series against the Nuevitas Naturals, and they now sit at 25-19, half a game behind us!

Meanwhile, our scouts have found a really good find in Juancarlos Colas, a 16-year-old catcher prospect from Cuernavaca, Mexico. This kid’s going to need time to learn the complete game, but he’s got raw talent that is unbelievable, and a ton of potential. Our scouts say his power hitting is already well above average for the league, and he has the skills to eventually become a good contact hitter. He also has a great infield arm and could potentially develop enough as a pitcher to be a legitimate two-way prospect, though our focus right now is on building him up as an infielder and working on his defense.