Playoffs in mind

JetHawks win fifth consecutive game

They can take some comfort in this: With Lancaster's 7-1 victory Sunday over Rancho Cucamonga, the JetHawks will take plenty of momentum on the road. The JetHawks outscored the Quakes 46-10 over four games to notch their first four-game sweep of the season, and the 6-1 homestand is the season's best. Their current five-game winning streak also matches their season's best.

"We're all playing really well right now," JetHawks shortstop Matt Kata said. "We're pitching well, we're getting some big hits and we're playing really good defense. If we can keep doing that on the road, I think we've got a good shot to make some kind of run."

The JetHawks went to work quickly against Quakes starter Matt Hensley. The JetHawks pounded out seven runs on 10 hits in the first three innings, taking a six-run lead. Billy Martin doubled twice and scored two runs, and Corey Myers singled, doubled and drove in three runs.

The bottom six in the JetHawks order batted 9-for-9 in the first three innings with three doubles and six RBI and seven runs, and had two successful sacrifices.

"Even though we got some big hits, we did some little things to create some runs," JetHawks manager Scott Coolbaugh said. "Guys are realizing that that's important."

With the Quakes' bullpen burned out from the series' first three games, manager Tim Wallach had to stay with Hensley. He settled down, allowing one hit over the next three innings.

Hensley (2-4) allowed seven runs on 11 hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked two.

JetHawks starter Brandon Webb (5-10) made sure the Quakes never came back. He allowed one run on six hits in seven innings and struck out eight. The Quakes threatened in the fifth, putting runners on second and third with no outs, but Webb struck out Carlos Gastelum and Tommy Murphy, and Sergio Contreras popped out to end the inning.

"The last time out, I kept leaving the ball up, and I wasn't getting ahead of batters," Webb said. "I just tried to do the opposite tonight."

Mike Garber and Jamie Gann each pitched an inning of relief to secure the win for Lancaster. The JetHawks remain eight games behind High Desert for the final playoff spot, though, because the Mavericks beat San Bernardino, 7-5.

"Right now, we're just doing things right, playing the game right," Kata said. "We've got to keep doing what we're doing, and not get caught up in the whole playoff thing."

Notes
Outfielder Kevan Burns, rehabbing a herniated disc in his back at the Diamondbacks' spring training complex in Tucson, is progressing slower than expected, and won't rejoin the JetHawks any time soon. Coolbaugh said Burns would return no sooner than Aug. 23, when the JetHawks start a four-game series in San Jose. That leaves just 12 games left in the season, and it's possible Burns won't return at all.

Burns batted .357 for the JetHawks before being placed on the disabled list on July 16.

JetHawks hitting coach Rick Schu left the team Friday due to family medical problems. Catcher J.D. Closser served as first-base coach against the Quakes on Sunday, and Diamondbacks field coordinator Ron Hassey will join the team today in Lake Elsinore to fill Schu's role. Schu may not return until a three-game series at Mudville beginning Aug. 20.

Uploaded August 13, 2001