Let’s face it, when you’re the defending California League champions looking to repeat as such and there are three other teams in your division who would love nothing more than to be the ones to knock you off, there really isn’t a good time to struggle. But when you are on the very cusp of winning the first half of the 2019 season, which guarantees you an automatic berth into the 2019 postseason, there absolutely couldn’t be a worse time to struggle.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, it appears that this is exactly the case; this in spite of the fact that they are currently in first place in the division.

The good news is that the Quakes currently have a 5.0-game lead over both the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) and the Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies), and a 10.5-game lead over the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels) with 10 games remaining in the first half.

The bad news is that unless the Quakes snap out of their current funk, and fast, they are still at risk of not winning the first half; not a life-or-death predicament with another half yet to go, but having that playoff spot already in the bank is a very good thing.

Oh sure, you can argue that losing two games in a row and two-out-of-three to a very good JetHawks team isn’t really a losing streak, especially after having won six of their last eight games prior to their current two-game skid. But there is a pretty good chance that Quakes manager Mark Kertenian is starting to get a little uncomfortable right about now.

Fortunately, Kertenian’s team has enjoyed some pretty good pitching – both starting and relief – through their first 58 games. They have also slugged a Cal League-best 65 home runs thus far – two more than the JetHawks. That being said, the Quakes skipper isn’t exactly thrilled with the quality of his team’s at-bats of late.

“There’s actually more work to be done on that, and our guys know it,” Kertenian told ThinkBlue LA prior to game-1 of the just-concluded three-game series with Lancaster. “There’s meat on the bone with what we’re capable of doing in certain situations versus pitchers with runners on [base], specific settings. By no means are we a finished product on that. We’re a long way away, actually, from it.”

There is a silver-lining to all of this, if you choose to go down that rabbit hole, that is. Beginning Friday evening, the Quakes open a five, yes five-game regularly-scheduled series with the current Cal League South last-place 66ers at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino. But here again, as of Friday morning, the 66ers, although they trail Rancho by 10.5 games in the current Cal League South standings, have not yet been eliminated. And you can bet that the Angels Advanced Single-A affiliate would love nothing more than to rain on Rancho’s parade.

Play Ball!