With Santana Playing Some Sweet Music, JetHawks Rock the Quakes, 5-2

There have been two distinctly different versions of Marino Santana to pitch for the JetHawks. One very good, and one, well, not so good.

Both pitched on Tuesday night.

The wrong one took the mound in the first inning, but not for long.

Santana, collecting himself after giving up a two-run home run to the second batter, pitched seven innings and Jesus Marquez drove in three runs on three hits to lead the JetHawks to a 5-2 victory over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes before 3,726 at the Hangar in what Lancaster players called the most important game of the season.

Facing the prospect of falling three games behind the Quakes with five to play in the first half, the JetHawks (34-31) instead pulled within one game in the California League’s Southern Division. They have two remaining games against the Quakes.

“I feel really good,” JetHawk catcher Scot Sealy said. “We’ve got our best pitcher [Ken Cloude] going [tonight] and then Trey Moore [14-6 in the Cal League last season]. We’re in good position.”

Reliever John Thompson struck out Antonio Fernandez, the league’s leading hitter, with a runner at second to end the eighth, preserving a two-run lead.

Thompson retired the side in order in the ninth--striking out two with a long fly ball in between--to record his fifth save, his first since May 17.

“When that guy hit that fly that kind of scared me,” Thompson said. “I figured I’d better bear down. This was a huge win for us.”

Santana (5-6) walked leadoff hitter Vince Moore and Dickie Woodridge hit a first-pitch homer.

After the home run, Santana retired 15 of 17 batters, striking out eight through five innings. In the sixth, he walked Woodridge leading off, then induced a double play and rang up Sean Watkins for his ninth strikeout.

“It was a helluva game,” Sealy said. “We had them guessing off-speed and we’d throw the fastball by them. When they looked fastball, we threw the off-speed. Every time they adjusted, we adjusted.”

Santana gave up a leadoff single in the seventh, but he retired the next two hitters on first-pitch fly balls and recorded strikeout No. 10--a season-high--against Ben Davis, San Diego’s top prospect.

“I had my doubts,” Manager Dave Brundage said. “But he put on a clinic after that [home run].”

Marquez made the score 2-1 in the bottom of the second when he ripped a Brett Walters pitch over the fence in right-center field. It was Marquez’s eighth home run, fifth in his last eight starts.

“We needed a spark early and Jesus came up and gave us a nice lift,” Brundage said.

The JetHawks took the lead in the fifth with three runs, two on Marquez’s two-out double.

The JetHawks added an insurance run in the eighth when James Clifford hit a solo home run.

Clifford is 13 for 29 with six of his 10 home runs and 12 RBIs in nine games against Rancho Cucamonga.

JetHawks 5, Rancho Cucamonga 2

Rancho Cucamonga 200 000 000 -- 2 4 0

JetHawks 010 030 01x -- 5 9 0

Walters, Baron (7) and Davis; Santana, Niemeier (8), Thompson (8) and Sealy.

W--Santana (5-6).L--Walters (5-3).S--Thompson (5).

2B: J--Marquez.HR:RC--Woodridge (2); J--Marquez (8), Clifford (10).

Records: Rancho Cucamonga 35-30; JetHawks 34-31.