Giants rally for win

By Jason Turbow
Special to The Advertiser

San Francisco pitching coach Dave Righetti, left, and catcher Yorvit Torrealba, center, talk with Jerome Williams after Arizona took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Associated Press

But Williams, a Waipahu High alum, had not seen game action since his July 12 start at Arizona, and showed the rust.

A four-run rally in the sixth gave the Giants a 5-4 win that extended their lead over Arizona in the NL West to eight games, and got Williams — who exited in the top half of the inning with his team down, 4-1 — off the hook.

And while he started the game with a measure of dominance that justified his hype, in the end he looked exactly like what he is — a rookie making the 10th start of his career, sometimes overpowering and occasionally lost.

"I felt a little different after that layoff," Williams said. "I don't want to say it hurt me, but I did feel a little awkward. I couldn't let that bother me, though. Nine days or four days — you still have to go out and pitch."

That his father, Glenn, made the trip from O'ahu to see his son pitch professionally for the first time lent Williams an extra dose of nerves.

The right-hander breezed through the first three innings, allowing only a first-inning walk to Luis Gonzalez. In the fourth inning, however, things began to come apart.

Following Matt Kata's leadoff walk, Gonzalez drove the first pitch he saw — a Williams offering that was supposed to be outside, but missed badly over the plate — for a double to right, sending Kata to third.

At this point it was a matter of luck, the type that has served Williams so well this season but which abandoned him here. Shea Hillenbrand's grounder skipped under third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo's glove for an error, scoring Kata on the play.

Steve Finley followed with a sharp single to center, scoring Gonzalez, for a 2-0 lead, and sending Hillenbrand to third. A Finley steal left runners on second and third with nobody out, and Williams facing catastrophe. He would have none of it.

Buckling down, he struck out Chad Moeller and Quinton McCracken, and, after an intentional walk to first baseman Lyle Overbay, retired pitcher Elmer Dessens, ending the inning with a minimum of damage.

By the time he took the mound for the fifth inning Williams was a new man.

Facing the top three hitters in the Arizona lineup, he needed only seven pitches to retire the side.

The sixth inning proved Williams' undoing. Singles from Hillenbrand and Finley — each on hanging curves — opened the frame. Williams then booted Moeller's bunt for his first big league error, loading the bases with nobody out.

A grounder to third brought Hillenbrand home, and after another intentional walk to Overbay, Dessens laid down a perfect safety squeeze, plating Finley for Arizona's fourth run.

Dessens would be Williams' final hitter of the evening. Chad Zerbe came on to get Craig Counsell for the final out, again limiting the damage.

In the bottom of the sixth, when Yorvit Torrealba singled home Barry Bonds and Rich Aurilia with what would be the tying and winning runs, Williams was off the hook.

Williams allowed four runs — three earned — and four hits, and had four walks and six strikeouts in 5áÊinnings.

Arizona manager Bob Brenly said he was pleased his team was more successful against Williams than in his last start when he pitched the Giants to an 8-1 win.

"The guys made some pretty good adjustments to Williams," Brenly said. "He had us baffled at Bank One, so I was glad to see that tonight. It's obvious that this series is more important to us. They're in the cat-bird seat and we're scratching and clawing to get back in it."

Williams is 5-1 this season with a 2.83 earned-run average. He has pitched 63á innings, striking out 44 and walking 30.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.