Hawaii Baseball Report – Sept. 25, 2022

Statistics of players with Hawaii ties in professional baseball through Friday’s games. Players who are on the injured or suspended list and whose stats have not changed since last week are not listed.:

>> Los Angeles Angels catcher Kurt Suzuki (Baldwin) announced Tuesday that he will retire at the end of the season. Suzuki has played with five teams in 16 major league seasons. He won a World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019 and was an all-star in 2014 with the Minnesota Twins. He played the most seasons and games with the Oakland A’s (718 games in seven seasons) and is expected to play his last game in Oakland, as the Angels finish their season with a three-game series there. Through Friday, Suzuki had a .255 career average with 143 home runs and 729 RBIs. Those last\ two are easily the most for any MLB player born in Hawaii, and Suzuki, who turns 39 next week, also has by far the most at-bats (5,561), hits (1,420) and doubles (295).

>> Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong (Kamehameha-Hawaii/UH) hit three home runs and drove in all Milwaukee’s runs in Thursday’s 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds. The outburst gave him a career-high 15 home runs this season. The following day, he stole his 16th base. He is four steals away from his third 20-steal season.

>> The Cincinnati Reds optioned pitcher Kyle Dowdy (Hawaii) on Sept. 18.

>> Catcher Kekai Rios (Kamehameha/UH) went 2-for-4 for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers on Tuesday in Game 1 of the Texas League North Division best-of-three playoff series against the Wichita Wind Surge, but the Drillers lost 17-1. The Wind Surge won Game 2 11-1 two days later to eliminate Tulsa. Rios did not play in Game 2.

>> The Lake County Captains tabbed pitcher Aaron Davenport (Hawaii) to start the decisive Game 3 of the Midwest League championship series Wednesday against the South Bend Cubs. Davenport gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in 22⁄3 innings and took the loss as the Captains fell 7-4. Davenport struck out two batters.

>> Outfielder Shane Sasaki (‘Iolani) went 1-for-7 with two walks as his Charleston RiverDogs swept the Lynchburg Hillcats in the best-of-three Carolina League championship series. Sasaki, the RiverDogs’ leadoff hitter, also scored two runs and stole two bases. Over four postseason games, all wins, Sasaki batted .294.

>> Codie Paiva (Kamehameha) and his Quebec Capitales won the Frontier League championship by closing out the Schaumburg Boomers 2-1 on Sept. 18 to win the best-of-five league championship series three games to one.

>> Pitcher Quintin Torres-Costa (Waiakea/UH) retired from the Atlantic League Gastonia Honey Hunters. In six minor league seasons with MLB farm teams, Torres-Costa went 23-12 with a 3.74 ERA, climbing as high as Triple-A in 2021. He struck out 336 batters and walked 138 in 2571⁄3 innings and allowed 215 hits.

Hawaii Baseball Report – Se… by Honolulu Star-Advertiser