Teen phenom shuts down Athletics

Lancaster Joel Pineiro allowed only four hits in seven innings to earn his first victory in the Cal League

The right-hander, who made his first start since being promoted from Class A Wisconsin, was outstanding in leading the JetHawks to a 13-1 victory over Modesto in the first of a four-game series at John Thurman Field on Thursday night.

The win was Lancaster's second straight and improved the team's record on the current 13-game road trip to 3-4. It also moved the JetHawks (13-15) within two games of .500 in the second half and put them one game ahead of the A's in the wild-card race.

The JetHawks can thank a Cal League rookie for that lead.

Despite making his first start, Pineiro said he didn't want to alter his approach for Thursday's game.

``I just wanted to go after the hitters and try to make them put the ball in play,'' Pineiro said. ``I wanted to be aggressive like I was in Wisconsin.''

That was enough to impress his new manager.

``He pitched great,'' JetHawks manager Rick Burleson said. ``He had a real sharp curveball. He pitched like he was a veteran, not a 19-year-old making his first start in this league. He showed a lot of poise.''

Pineiro, who was selected to play in the Midwest League AllStar Game last month, received his promotion after outshining the Mariners' last two No. 1 selections - Gil Meche and Ryan Anderson - during his stint with the Timber Rattlers. He kicked off his second professional season by going 8-4 with a 3.19 ERA at Wisconsin.

Pitching coach Jim Slaton said he was impressed with both the arm and the maturity the Dominican Republic native showed while he worked with him in spring training this year.

``He's mature well beyond his years,'' Slaton said. ``He doesn't seem to get flustered.''

Pineiro also might have won over the 3,078 fans in attendance, as well as the A's.

He allowed only four hits and three walks in his seven innings of work and never really seemed to be in trouble. The only run he allowed was Josh Davis' first home run of the season - a solo shot with two outs in the fifth inning.

By then, the JetHawks already had built Pineiro a comfortable lead.

``When they gave me that lead, it made me feel a lot more comfortable,'' Pineiro said. ``I could just focus on pitching.''

The Lancaster offense also seems to have broken out of its slump, posting its second consecutive night of double-digit runs. Lancaster pounded Modesto pitching for 13 hits and picked up five walks.

That big night came against an old nemesis Jason Anderson, who has effectively shut down the JetHawks three of the four times he's faced them this season. The left-hander entered Thursday with a 2-0 record and a 1.89 ERA against the JetHawks.

Those numbers went up after he allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits and two walks in his 4 2/3 innings of work.

``Our offense has been playing pretty well most of the season,'' Burleson said. ``We had a couple of rough games, but our offense has done a good job the last couple of nights.''

The JetHawks got to Anderson early, as Cirilo Cruz Jr. and Brendan Kingman picked up back-toback, one-out singles in the first. Cruz scored on a passed ball, before Jason Regan drove in Kingman.

Ramon Vazquez doubled and scored on Chris Dean's single in the second to give the JetHawks a 3-0 lead.

Anderson settled down in the third and fourth, but Lancaster pounded him and reliever Jeff Schultz for five runs on four hits and two walks in the top of the fifth to blow the game open.

The big inning was highlighted by Vazquez's two-out, bases-loaded triple, which scored Regan, Luis Tinoco and Francisco Santiestaban to make the score 8-0.