But then the Stockton Ports' slugger made an adjustment, and it led to the JetHawks' fourthstraight loss.
Swinton hit a bases-empty home run off reliever John Thompson to provide the winning run in a 5-4 victory in front of a paid crowd of 5,297 at The Hangar.
"They fed me a bunch of breaking balls all night," Swinton said after the Ports (18-17) had won their sixth-straight. "That at-bat I was just determined to put the ball in play. The main thing you can do is try to refocus."
He did more than that, driving a Thompson slider over the right field wall for his ninth homer of the season.
The Ports' 6-foot-3, 265-pound designated hitter was hitting .307 entering the game despite striking out 54 times. He also had a Cal League-leading 31 RBI.
"It wasn't (Thompson)'s best pitch," Lancaster manager Dave Brundage said.
Even though Swinton said that "he was just fortunate enough to get the game-winning hit," he was quick to add "Brooks Drysdale gets the credit for this one."
Coming on in relief, Drysdale pitched three scoreless innings and gave up one hit - Jesus Marquez' seventh-inning single.
The loss dropped the JetHawks to 19-17. They entered the night in third place in the California League's Southern Division.
But unlike the previous two nights, in which they were outscored by Lake Elsinore 21-3, Lancaster combined good pitching with strong defense.
They didn't have an error and got a solid start from Ivan Montane, who gave up three runs in six innings and left the game with a 4-3 lead.
A power pitcher, Montane gave up nine hits and walked seven. All three runs he gave up came in the first and second.
"It's just the way I approach the game coming into it," Montane said. "I need better mental preparation."
The JetHawks scored twice off Stockton starter Steve Gardner in the first. Gardner was a last-second replacement for left-hander Tyrone Hill, a former first-round pick by Milwaukee who was placed in the disabled list Friday.
Gardner came into the game having given up eight hits and seven runs in four innings this season, and he looked like a pitcher with an 11.25 ERA in the first.
With one out, Jason Cook singled and scored on a double by Shane Monahan.
After Gardner walked the next two hitters to load the bases, he hit Jesus Marquez with a pitch to force in a run and make it 2-2.
The Ports had taken a 2-0 lead in the first when Mike Rennhack hit a two-run single off Montane.
Junior Betances had an RBI groundout in the second to give the Ports a 3-2 lead, but Lancaster went ahead in the fourth on Monahan's single that scored two runs.
After that, though, Lancaster put only one runner on base. They also stranded nine runners in the first seven innings.
"Much better all-around," Brundage said of the JetHawks' effort. "But we're still not getting the big hits like we were. We're not getting quality at-bats with runners in scoring position."