Friday, the Lancaster JetHawks played well but lost their fourth in a row.
Saturday, they staggered backward in a 8-2 loss to the Stockton Ports in front of a paid attendance of 5,812 at The Hangar.
It was the kind of loss that pushed both Lancaster manager Dave Brundage and outfielder Shane Monahan to their breaking points.
"There's nobody in this league that should touch us," Monahan said. "We've got great hitting, great pitching . . . we've got to get somebody in a corner just like a (Mike) Tyson fight and just knock them out. Bury them. Drown them.
"I'm frustrated," he continued. "We've just got to get some fire."
The JetHawks, once the California League's most potent offense, managed seven hits against Stockton starter Steve Woodard, the second pitcher in a week to throw a complete-game against Lancaster.
"That's not the kind of baseball I wanted to bring to Lancaster," Lancaster manager Dave Brundage said. "That's not what we're all about. We're timid. It's like we're just trying to put the ball in play."
After a one-game reprieve, Lancaster's defensive woes returned: Errors in the fourth and sixth led to two Stockton runs.
"We play in front of a lot of fans, a big crowd," Brundage said, "and it should be a lot of fun. That's not the effort we're looking for."
The JetHawks' loss was also painful for catcher Scot Sealy. He dislocated his left thumb while catching in the second inning.
Lancaster trainer Rob Nodine said Sealy will probably miss the next three games.
Starting pitcher Marino Santana was inconsistent.
At times, he was good (seven strikeouts, including No. 3-hitter Drew Williams three times).
But among the four hits Santana (2-3) gave up were triples by Mike Rennhack and Toby Kominek and Josh Tyler's first home run of the season.
He also walked four and threw two wild pitches in the second, the first of which allowed Rennhack to score.
Nobody probably represents the JetHawks recent slide than reliever John Daniels.
Daniels hadn't given up an earned run this season until May 5 in Rancho Cucamonga, a span covering 20 innings.
He's given up six in his last nine innings, including two in the eighth that extended the Stockton lead to 8-2.
"We're not getting any breaks," Daniels said. "I threw a lot of ground-ball base hits that were finding holes. We hit line drives right at people and they hit balls that find holes. It's just kind of a luck thing."
Woodard didn't really need a whole lot of luck, however. The 19-year-old right-hander with the sub-.500 record and 5.58 ERA entering the game didn't allow a run after the first.
A 15-4 pitcher his first two years in the Milwaukee system, including an 8-0 mark at Stockton in 1994, Woodard (3-4) retired 11-straight batters at one point.
Not until Jason Cook's leadoff double in the sixth did a JetHawk reach second after James Clifford drove in Cook in the first with a triple. Clifford also scored on the play when Rennhack misplayed the ball in the right field corner.
"(Woodard) was throwing his fastball and change for strikes," Monahan said, "But he's nothing great. But you have to tip you're hat to him. He screwed a lot of us up."
Lancaster reliever Clint Gould pitched well in the ninth, retiring all three batters he faced.
Kominek and Rennhack went a combined 4-for-7 to lead the Ports offensively. Kominek went 2-for-3 with a triple, double and three runs scored. Rennhack drove in two runs and went 2-for-4.