Trips to Hiroshima have been hard for this team in the past decade, and this trip was no exception. One of our players made the trip but then left without even setting foot on the field. (No, not Yangervis Solarte – that was 4 years ago already!) Koji Chikamoto took a fastball to the ribs on Sunday, and although he said he wanted to play and was good to go, it became apparent before Tuesday’s game that he was not strong enough to suit up. The heart and soul of the team is on the shelf. The rest of the bats were unable to make up for the loss. So we lost. And while we are still in first place, that lead is getting slimmer by the week. Believe it or not, this team has not won two straight games since June 3-4.