By CHRIS BRANAM
Valley Press Staff Writer
SAN JOSE - What an ugly display by third baseman Jose Alguacil.
What a pleasant sight to see for a team coming off three straight close losses.
Alguacil, a second baseman by trade last season but a third baseman Tuesday night, committed a crucial error that allowed the Lancaster JetHawks to take a 7-4 win over the San Jose Giants in front of a paid attendance of 3,630 at Municipal Stadium.
The JetHawks (7-6) snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Giants dropped to 5-7 in a matchup of California League Valley Division teams.
A great deal of the credit goes to Lancaster's ability to take advantage of Alguacil's error in the sixth.
Alguacil couldn't field a weak ground ball hit by Luis Molina, and it gave the JetHawks new life against side-arming right-hander Mike McMullen in a 3-3 tie.
McMullen then gave up a single to Chris Dean and walked Luis Tinoco to load the bases. James Clifford, who had doubled in his two previous at-bats, walked to force in the go-ahead run.
Yuni Kim then singled to drive home Dean and Tinoco, who slid in just ahead of right fielder Rey Corujo's throw. Suddenly, the JetHawks were up 6-3.
"We finally got a base hit with the bases loaded," JetHawks manager Rick Burleson said. "This time, Yuni got the big hit."
Lancaster went ahead 7-3 when Clifford scored from third on a wild pitch by McMullen.
JetHawks reliever Brian Sweeney benefited from the rally.
Sweeny came on in the fifth in relief of Aaron Scheffer. He gave up four hits and one run over three innings to improve to 2-0.
Allan Westfall pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first professional save.
After three one-run losses at Lake Elsinore, Rick Burleson shuffled his lineup a bit, giving leadoff hitter Joe Mathis the night off (replacing him with Dean) and moving the designated hitter Tinoco up to the No. 2 spot.
Tinoco, who entered the game batting .152, made the move look good in the first. He blasted a high fastball from Giants starter Brandon Leese over the center-field wall for a solo homer that gave the JetHawks a quick 1-0 lead.
For Tinoco, it was his second homer and first since opening night, a span covering eight games.
"There's no question Luis Tinoco has struggled," Burleson said. "He's pressed a little bit. . . He's got the kind of explosive bat. . . That you saw (Tuesday night)."
After striking out leadoff hitter Tim Garland, Scheffer struggled in the bottom of the first and the Giants scored twice to take a 2-1 lead.
Hot-hitting Bobby Bonds Jr. (league-leading .528 average) ripped Scheffer's first pitch into left-center field for a double that scored Todd Wilson with the second run.
The JetHawks had a two-run rally of their own in the third against Giants starter Brandon Leese.
After Dean hit a grounder past Alguacil that could have been scored an error, Tinoco walked and Clifford hit a double down the right-field line that drove home Dean.
After Kim struck out, Tarrik Brock hit a grounder to second baseman Tony Zuniga, who couldn't field it cleanly, and Tinoco came home with an unearned run that made it 3-2.
San Jose tied the game in the fourth when Alguacil hit a hard liner that went off Clifford's glove at first and rolled into foul territory. Alguacil ended up at second with a double.
He scored with two outs when shortstop Mike Caruso, who was pitched away by Scheffer in his first three at-bats, slapped a 1-2 pitch through the middle for a single.
Caruso, San Francisco's No. 2 pick in last year's draft, resembled a college softball player on both hits, with a short, choppy swing as he took a step toward first base on contact.
Lancaster came close to breaking the tie in the fifth when Leese collapsed after getting a pop-out and strikeout.
Leese gave up another double to Clifford, an infield single to Kim and a walk to Brock to load the bases. He was replaced by McMullen, who induced Dusty Wathan into a groundout to end the threat.