Posted on: Friday, October 1, 2004
Williams gives Giants hope
By Andrew Baggarly
Special to The Advertiser
SAN DIEGO — Jerome Williams gave the San Francisco Giants just the jolt they needed last night. Pitching for the first time in two months, the 22-year-old Waipahu High graduate from Hawai'i responded to pennant-race pressure with all the poise of a veteran. He pitched seven outstanding innings in a 4-1 victory over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park that moved the Giants back into a tie with Houston in the NL wild card standings.
Lenny ignelzi • Associated Press A loss last night would have put the Giants in a prone position: eliminated from the division and needing help to win the wild card. Williams helped them keep both playoff possibilities under their control.
"My personal thought, from deep inside of me, I was hoping for five decent innings,'' Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "He threw seven great innings. ... We gave that kid time to be where he is. There were at least a couple thoughts and questions about him pitching but we felt today was the day for him."
Williams pitched for the first time since July 30, when he injured his right elbow and needed surgery to remove bone fragments. Because the minor league season was over, Williams had to prepare by throwing simulated innings and making two starts in the Arizona Instructional League.
He faced teenage prospects in those two games.
When the competition got tougher, so did Williams.
"I was pretty confident no matter what," Williams said. "I just had to stay calm and try not to let my emotions get to me."
Williams (10-7) allowed four hits and a run in seven innings while throwing just 90 pitches. His biting sinker induced plenty of ground balls and his changeup resulted in pop flies
"That was an unbelievable comeback,'' reliever Dustin Hermanson said. "If it wasn't his best game of the year, it was up there."
Williams' most impressive work came in the sixth inning, when Ramon Vazquez hit a leadoff triple but failed to score. Williams was angry with himself when he hit Mark Loretta with a 1-2 pitch to put runners at the corners, but pitching coach Dave Righetti calmed him down.
Brian Giles lined out to medium left field, Vazquez didn't try to score, and Phil Nevin hit into a double play.
"It was pretty intense,'' Williams said.
"(Righetti said) I had to just stay calm, don't worry about it."
Williams is 3-1 with a 1.87 ERA in five career starts against the Padres.
"You never know when a major leaguer is going to take the mound," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "He pitched well today."
Williams won't pitch again unless the Giants make the postseason. He might have put himself into consideration for the playoff rotation.
Last night's game, which basically amounted to a playoff game for the Giants, was a solid audition.
"That was a big, big game and he didn't get too excited,'' reliever Scott Eyre said. "That was not easy, to say the least. It was just awesome to watch."
The Giants remained three games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. They would need to complete a three-game sweep this weekend at Dodger Stadium to force a tie and a potential one-game playoff for the division Monday at SBC Park.
Waipahu's Jerome Williams allowed a run in seven innings as the Giants beat the Padres, 4-1.
