Riding a five-game winning streak

Not long after the Missions won a season-high fifth game in a row Friday night, manager Rick Sweet was already seated at the chess board, figuratively speaking.
He was already examining his strengths and weaknesses and plotting his next moves. Also, he was trying to keep things in perspective.
"You always win five in a row at some point in the season," Sweet said.
On a night when 22-year-old Keston Hiura homered twice and 31-year-old closer Jay Jackson pitched two riveting innings of relief in a 4-3 victory over Oklahoma City Dodgers, the manager loved it.
He loved the way his club refused to fold after the Dodgers battled back from a three-run deficit to pull within one, only to have Jackson and the Missions thwart the comeback.
But, afterward, Sweet tried to stay one step ahead with his planning.
He sat in his office, drawing up future lineups.
"I'm more interested in how we're playing and the mood, the atmosphere and how everybody's doing right now," he said.
Like, how everyone seems to be contributing?
"Yeah" Sweet said, "and everybody is involved. I'm worried about health. We've got a couple of guys a little banged up, and I think we've got like 15 days before we've got another off day.
"So, I look ahead. I worry more about that. It's nice to have the last five. But I've already started to make a lineup for tomorrow."
If Sweet worries, where does that leave Oklahoma City manager Travis Barbary?
His Dodgers (7-14) have dropped eight of their last nine and three straight to the Missions (13-8) going into the fourth game of a five-game series Saturday night at Wolff.
It's a perilous time for Oklahoma City, because it can't afford to extend the skid much further without risking long-term damage to the team's psyche.
"We've got (119) games left, so there's a (lot of) time," Sweet said. "A lot of these clubs are going to change their make-up. You catch clubs at down times. You can catch teams at hot times. It's just the luck of the draw sometimes."
"Because, Triple-A is a funny level. Like, our big-league club is winning big tonight, so, they won't need any help tomorrow. They'll leave us alone. Now, if they start losing a couple of games, that's when we start losing players."
Regardless, the Missions are riding high at the moment.
They lead the Pacific Coast League's American Southern Division, followed by the New Orleans Baby Cakes and Round Rock Express (both 12-9) and Oklahoma City.
Missions fans already seem to be taking to the new league, with 5,544 on hand causing a ruckus for most of the night.
The fans reveled when Hiura blasted a two-run homer in the fifth inning and a solo shot in the seventh. They booed the umpiring crew and to Barbary for a discussion about whether Hiura's second homer made it over the left field wall.
Jackson said everyone is watching Hiura, the Milwaukee Brewers' top minor-league prospect. Even his teammates in the bullpen.
"The first home run he hit, I actually told the guys, 'He's going to hit a home run right here,' " Jackson said. "I just missed the part of the field. I said he was going to hit it into right field. But he hit it into dead center, and it was a missile."
A ruckus ensued after Hiura belted another low-trajectory shot to left.
The ball appeared to carry over the top -- or off the top -- of the wall, before it bounced up against a screen in front of the outfield berm. All of which caused it to carom back onto the playing surface.
Unsure whether it made it over the fence, Hiura slid into second base, before he saw an umpire signaling for a home run.
"Sweet," he said to himself.
At that point, he got up and jogged the rest of the way home as tension between the Dodgers and the umpires mounted.
After collaboration, the umps tossed Barbary, much to the delight of the crowd.
"I don't know what he was arguing about, honestly," Jackson said. "I felt like it hit the top, then hit the fence, then came back.   I don't know. Maybe he didn't see it from a good angle, or what. But we all saw it in the bullpen.
"It was clearly a home run. Maybe he was just trying to get his team fired up."
The Dodgers came alive in the top of the eighth against reliever Donnie Hart, with Edwin Ríos slashing a two-run double that made it 4-3, a blow that broke the Missions' bullpen streak of 18 consecutive scoreless innings.
At that point, Jackson entered the game for Hart and, despite some drama, held the Dodgers scoreless for the next two innings.
He struck out three, including a punch out of Will Smith in the ninth with two runners on.
Hiura said he has faith in Jackson's abilities.
"He came in tonight and closed it down," Hiura said. "It's definitely fun to watch him out there."
Brown gets first win
Missions pitcher Zack Brown (1-2) earned his first victory of the season after pitching five innings and giving up one run. Even though Jackson threw 30 pitches, he notched his third save. Dodgers starter Brock Stewart (0-1) suffered the loss.
Hiura's day
Hiura went 3-for-3 with a ground-rule double and home runs No. 6 and 7 on the season. Also, Missions Tyrone Taylor and David Freitas both had a couple of hits. Freitas was recently acquired by the Brewers' organization from the Mariners.