By CHRIS BRANAM
Staff Writer
LANCASTER - There was nothing new about the situation Brett Hinchliffe was in.
The bases were loaded and up came the hitter everyone on both teams knew Hinchliffe was supposed to get out.
The one bad inning, as Hinchliffe has been prone to talk about after every one of his losses this season, looked like it had arrived.
And then Hinchliffe was out of it.
"For a year-and-a-half we've seen (Hinchliffe) live and die by the big inning," Lancaster JetHawks manager Dave Brundage said. "Tonight, he didn't say `Here we go again.' He did something about it."
Hinchliffe struck out Mark Lukasiewicz with the bases loaded in the sixth to exorcise some personal demons and lead the Lancaster JetHawks to a 5-2 victory over the Bakersfield Blaze Thursday in front of 4,810 at The Hangar.
"This game I bore down a little more and said `It's not going to happen this time,' " said Hinchliffe, who ended a personal three-game losing streak. "It's a big relief. It puts a big smile on my face."
A happy Hinchliffe (6-8) is exactly what the JetHawks (4-5) are going to need in the second half if they are going to make a run at the California League's Southern Division title.
Thursday's game marked the first time Hinchliffe hadn't given up a run in a start.
"When I had to make the pitches I did," he said. "I knew I could pitch in this league, it was just a matter of making the pitches."
After giving up two hits in the first four innings, Hinchliffe gave up a double to Lukasiewicz to start the fifth.
That wasn't a good sign considering Lukasiewicz is a relief pitcher who was the Blaze's designated hitter Thursday because of injuries to position players.
Hinchliffe responded by getting the next three batters, including Bakersfield's all-star third baseman Juan Espinal on a fly out, with Lukasiewicz at third.
He worked himself into a deeper hole in the sixth.
Chris Paxton, the ex-Palmdale High standout who performed well in his second series at The Hangar, led off with a double.
Hinchliffe hit Dan Collier, and after Todd Johnson flew out to deep right field, Andreaus Lewis walked.
Hinchliffe retired the next two hitters - Craig Daedelow on a fly ball and Lukasiewicz on a strikeout - and he put an exclamation point on his outing with a perfect seventh.
"The strongest... (Hinchliffe) looked was in the seventh," Brundage said. "I wanted him to finish with that."
Before being relieved by Clint Gould to start the eighth, Hinchliffe gave up five hits, struck out six and walked three. His last win before Thursday was June 5 at High Desert.
The JetHawks scored twice with two outs in the fifth against Bakersfield starter Steve Arffa to take a 4-0 lead.
Jason Cook drew a one-out walk and after Shane Monahan flew out, Scott Smith hit a double to the left-center field gap that scored Cook.
Smith has 10 RBI in seven games since joining Lancaster after the all-star break.
Scot Sealy drove Smith in with a single up the middle to make it 4-0.
In his second start of the season, Arffa went five innings and gave up four runs, all earned, on eight hits. He came in with an 9.26 ERA in five games.
Jesus Marquez made it 5-0 against reliever Craig Bush in the sixth when he hit his 10th homer, a solo shot to right-center field.
Marquez also had a sacrifice fly in the second when the JetHawks took a 2-0 lead.
Carlos Villalobos led off with a double and went to third on Shawn Buhner's deep fly out to center. Marquez followed with a liner right to the center fielder Lewis that was deep enough for Villalobos to score.
Dusty Wathan then hit his first triple of the season and scored on Mike Lanza's single to make it 2-0.
It was Lanza's second RBI since June 9, and he came in with one hit in his last three games.