Mahan Earns Pacific Association’s Pitcher of the Week Award

Veteran Hawai`i Stars pitcher Dallas Mahan has been awarded the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs Pitcher of the Week award for the eighth week of the season, covering games played from July 15-22.

The 35-year-old left-hander, who doubles as the team’s pitching coach, pitched five innings of one-hit, one-run baseball in the Stars’ 9-1 victory over the East Bay Lumberjacks on July 16. He struck out eight and walked a batter in the outing.

“I was throwing strikes and I key off of that, and it doesn’t matter what team you face, you’ve still gotta pitch your game,” said Mahan in a phone interview. “I got five innings of work in and was happy with it.”

Mahan has dominated the Lumberjacks in two starts against them. On June 18, Mahan allowed two hits in six innings as his Stars defeated East Bay 13-3. He struck out four and walked three in the shutout effort.

On the season, the southpaw has a 3-1 record in eight starts. His 2.76 earned run average is fifth-best in the league. He has struck out 43 batters while walking 12.

This is not the first time a member of the Stars has earned one of the association’s weekly awards. Last week, Brendan Davis earned the league’s Player of the Week honor for games played between July 7-14. Davis hit .313 with two home runs and seven runs batted in during that stretch.

Hawai`i returns to the road for a six-game series against Na Koa Ikaika Maui. Game one of the series is slated for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. Following the series, the Stars travel to Japan to play six games against various Baseball Challenge League opponents.

Transaction wire

Transactions in independent professional baseball usually don’t play out like they do in the major leagues.

Take, for example, a trade between the Stars and the East Bay Lumberjacks on July 17. Hawai`i sent pitchers Michael Kenui and Roberto Feliciano to East Bay with nothing coming back in return.

Why? The Lumberjacks were short of pitchers for that night’s outing and needed arms after using two pitchers in Tuesday’s series opener.

Both men pitched against their former squad in Wednesday’s outing. Feliciano allowed two runs on two hits in two innings while Kenui, who took the loss, allowed four runs on three hits in the eighth inning of the Lumberjacks’ 8-7 loss to the Stars.

The trade, which ended up being more of a rental, didn’t last long. According to Karen Chaves, Assistant General Manager of the Stars, both men were suited up for Hawai`i in Saturday’s series finale.