Balbuena fills the hole for JetHawks

Right-hander Caleb Balbuena allowed one run in five innings to pitch Lancaster to its fifth straight victory.

by ED HARBOUR
Valley Press Staff Writer

Sunday morning, Caleb Balbuena got the call to pitch in Atchison's place against the San Jose Giants and didn't miss a beat.

Balbuena was solid in his second start of the year for Lancaster as the JetHawks won their fifth straight 13-5 over San Jose before a crowd of 2,152 at Lancaster Municipal Stadium.

"Whenever you get to start and throw well, it's a really good feeling," Balbuena said. "I've started before and they told me on Friday I'd be throwing, so I didn't really see it as a different thing.

"It all clicked real good. I felt good with all my pitches."

Balbuena went five innings, giving up one run on four hits.

"He was on a pitch count of 65 that he never reached," pitching coach Scott Budner said. "He threw 58 pitches and did what he needed to do in filling Atchison's spot.

"I've been working on him throwing a cutter and he used it nicely a few times (today)." "

Budner expected Atchison to return from the Rainiers after, at the most, two starts.

"It's supposed to be for a start, maybe two," Budner said. "But if we need him for more, Balbuena will be there. Baseball's a funny game and you never know what might happen."

Lancaster manager Mark Parent was also pleased with Balbuena's second start for him.

"He came in and filled in very nicely," Parent said. "He's been out of the loop a little bit, so it was nice to seem him do well."

Back on June 26, Balbuena started against Visalia in his first appearance in a JetHawks uniform. He lasted 4 innings, getting torched for five runs on four hits, including a two-run home run by Josh Hochegsang.

Balbuena's opposite on Sunday, San Jose starer Joe Horgan, lost for the first time in three starts against the JetHawks.

"(Horgan's) done very well against us," Parent said. "I think maybe our guys wanted a little piece of him."

In three previous starts against Lancaster, Horgan was 2-0.

After San Jose took an early 1-0 lead, Lancaster responded with three runs in the third, courtesy of a three-run homer by Harvey Hargrove to dead-center field.

"He left it up there for me," Hargrove said. "We've known each other for a long time. I'm comfortable in the (batter's) box with him up there."

Hargrove and Horgan both graduated from Cordova High School in Sacramento.

"I know he'll give me a hard time about it in batting practice tomorrow," Hargrove said, "because he shut me down last time. I went 0-for-4."

Hargrove finished 2-for-3, adding a double to his home run, and scored four times.

The win pushes Lancaster's winning streak at home to 20 games, including the first five games of the current 11-game homestand following a six-game losing skid on the road.

"I've said it before," Parent said, "this place is the best place to play in the league. We have the facilities to do extra work and come out when we need to.

"It's so helpful to the team to have a facility like this."

The JetHawks wrap up their three-game set with San Jose tonight and begin a three-game series with the Giants other affiliate, Bakersfield on Tuesday.

Uploaded August 7, 2000