By CHRIS BRANAM
Valley Press Staff Writer
STOCKTON - Just about the time that home plate umpire Kevin Kelley had thrown out his second player of the game in a span of 10 minutes, the bright full moon overhead seemed to be looking down and laughing.
Weird, strange, curious. . . all those adjectives were appropriate after what transpired between the Lancaster JetHawks and Stockton Ports Saturday night.
How's this for a starting point: Ports relief pitcher Nelson Cana threw three scoreless innings but was a hero with the bat.
Cana laid down a bunt single in his second professional at-bat (the first came two innings earlier) and the Ports went on to win on a double play that wasn't.
With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 10th, the JetHawks' second baseman Joel Ramirez tried to tag out Cana going to second and threw on to first to complete a double play.
But base umpire Matthew Head, who appeared to initially signal Cana out, reversed himself and declared him safe as Drew Williams came in with the winning run as the Ports beat the JetHawks 6-5.
Ramirez and most of the rest of the JetHawks who saw the play felt Cana was out and the game should have gone to the 11th.
Not JetHawks manager Rick Burleson, who didn't argue the call.
"He missed him," Burleson said.
Burleson was incensed with the JetHawks' inability to perform even the basics. He had a list of their errors, both physical and mental, written down on a note pad after the game.
"We stunk from the beginning," he said. "Fail to execute. Fail to bunt."
The JetHawks saw their eightgame winning streak snapped. They dropped to 35-21 and into a first place tie in the California League's Valley Division with High Desert, which beat San Bernardino 5-4.
The game took some interesting twists and ugly turns in the later innings.
The Ports, trailing 4-3 heading into the sixth, tied the game at four on an RBI single by Kelly Phair.
The JetHawks came back with a run in the eighth on David Skeels' infield hit.
Lancaster looked like it would get away with winning ugly in the bottom of the eighth, when Cana hit for himself and struck out against Brian Sweeney.
But the Ports tied it in the bottom of the ninth when Phair singled with Antonio Fernandez on second.
Fernandez was slowly rounding third when left fielder Josh Watts let the ball get by him. Fernandez scored on the error.
Then the Ports had to play a pitcher in the outfield when center fielder Chad Green got tossed out of the game in the ninth for arguing a called third strike by Kelley.
Kelley also called the JetHawks' Tarrik Brock out on strikes in the top of the 10th. Brock chirped at Kelley, then was ejected after he threw his bat into the bat rack.
All of this happened after Burleson stewed in the third base coach's box.
"So much for that eight-game winning streak," he said. "I've been around this game long enough to see how quick it can turn.
"I'm not defending anybody for that (game)," he said.