[ BASEBALL ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Giants sold puka shell necklaces at Pacific Bell Park, benefitting breast cancer research. The program honors Jerome Williams, whose mother, Deborah, died of the disease in 2001.
Williams struggles,
but Giants get winThe Waipahu alum gives up
five runs, but San Francisco
holds off Pittsburgh 7-5
SAN FRANCISCO >> Two months ago, Jeffrey Hammonds was out of baseball wondering when he'd get another chance.
Hammonds got that opportunity with San Francisco yesterday and hit his first homer for the Giants, a two-run shot that broke a seventh-inning tie for a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"I was at home sitting on the couch wondering if I'd ever hit another one," Hammonds said. "It's a blessing I'm here."
Waipahu graduate Jerome Williams allowed five runs -- three earned -- and six hits and matched his season high with five walks in only 5 1/3 innings for the Giants. He was not involved in the decision.
San Francisco won two of three from the Pirates at Pacific Bell Park and have taken 10 straight series against them since May 1999.
"It's disappointing because we came back," said Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon. "We had many opportunities. We didn't cash in."
It was 5-all when Jose Cruz Jr. drew a leadoff walk in the Giants seventh from Brian Boehringer (5-3). Hammonds tried to sacrifice but fouled it off before homering into the left-field stands on a 3-2 pitch.
"He's a quality player who knows what needs to be done," said Cruz. "We have guys here who have been successful in the major leagues. There's no lack of confidence."
After winning five consecutive starts, Williams is winless in his last four.
It might be tempting to blame the inevitable rookie wall, and it seems hitters are taking some better cuts off Williams, which often happens once advance scouts see a young pitcher enough.
On the other hand, Williams allowed just 10 earned runs in 24 innings, a 3.75 ERA, over those four starts, which resulted in one loss and three no-decisions. He has hurt himself by elevating some pitches, but the Giants have to be pleased with how well Williams has recovered in the innings after he allows runs.
Lots of folks are telling Williams not to worry, and he seems to be taking heed.
"All the veteran guys are telling me that," he said prior to yesterday's game. "But really the one guy who's been telling me is my dad. He calls me up and tells me, 'Don't worry about it. It will be OK. All you've got to do is throw the way you've been doing all year and do your job.' "
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerome Williams: Has gone four straight starts without a win
Hammonds started the year with Milwaukee and hit .158 with a home run and three RBIs in 10 games. He was released by the Brewers on June 4, signed a minor league deal with San Francisco on July 2 and was promoted to the majors at the end of the month.
"This is where everybody wants to play," said Hammonds, a Stanford grad. "I was dreaming about this two months ago. The Bay Area has always been good to me and I've always wanted to come back here."
Hammonds was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded during a four-run third. J.T. Snow also drove in three runs for the NL West leaders.
"It seems like good teams have a different guy coming through every day," Snow said. "We have some proven players here who know what it takes."
Scott Eyre (1-1) pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up the victory. Tim Worrell worked the ninth for his 25th save in 29 opportunities.
"(Hammonds) got his hands through that ball like no one I've seen in a while," said Eyre, "except for maybe (Barry) Bonds and he's a different story."
Pirates starter Ryan Vogelsong, who made his major league debut with the Giants in 2000, lasted 2 2/3 innings. He allowed four runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout.
"It seems like I have one bad inning every time and I don't know how to stop it," said Vogelsong. "I always seem to be one pitch away from getting out of it."
Salomon Torres was supposed to start for the Pirates, but was scratched Wednesday after straining his right hamstring while shagging fly balls in the outfield.
Snow hit a two-run single as the Giants opened a 4-0 lead in the third.
The Pirates got two of those runs back in the fourth on Jack Wilson's homer off of Williams, who has allowed a home run in each of his last three starts after not allowing one in his first 10.
Snow's two-out single in the fifth scored Cruz to make it 5-2.
The Pirates tied the game with three runs in the sixth, taking advantage of reliever Matt Herges' throwing error on a comebacker.
The Associated Press and the San Francisco Chronicle contributed to this report.
Giants 7, Pirates 5
Pittsburgh AB R H BI BB SO Avg. TRedman cf 5 0 2 0 0 1 .269 Kendall c 5 0 1 0 0 0 .299 BGiles lf 3 1 1 0 2 0 .303 RSanders rf 2 1 0 0 3 1 .262 Simon 1b 4 2 2 1 0 0 .273 JHernandez 3b 4 0 0 0 0 2 .229 JWilson ss 3 1 1 2 1 1 .244 ANunez 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .244 Lincoln p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- Vogelsong p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Beimel p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 a-Cota ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .286 Corey p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- b-Stairs ph 0 0 0 1 0 0 .297 Boehringer p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- Reboulet 2b 1 0 0 0 0 1 .247 Totals 32 5 7 4 7 6 San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg. JoCruz rf 1 3 0 0 3 0 .247 Hammonds cf-lf 2 2 1 3 1 0 .176 Feliz lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .226 Nathan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Worrell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Snow 1b 4 0 2 3 0 0 .273 Alfonzo 3b 4 0 1 1 0 1 .250 NPerez 2b 3 0 0 0 1 0 .259 Torrealba c 3 1 1 0 0 2 .250 Ransom ss 4 1 1 0 0 2 .222 JeWilliams p 1 0 0 0 0 0 .105 Herges p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 c-Galarraga ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .308 Eyre p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Grissom cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .303 Totals 28 7 7 7 5 6 a-flied out for Beimel in the 5th. b-hit a sacrifice fly for Corey in the 6th. c-lined out for Herges in the 6th.
Pittsburgh 000 203 000 -- 5 7 0 San Francisco 004 010 20x -- 7 7 2 E--NPerez (4), Herges (1). LOB--Pittsburgh 8, San Francisco 5. HR--Hammonds (2), off Boehringer; JWilson (6), off JeWilliams. RBIs--Simon (44), JWilson 2 (39), Stairs (34), Hammonds 3 (7), Snow 3 (43), Alfonzo (47). SB--Feliz (2). S--Torrealba, JeWilliams. SF--Stairs. GIDP--BGiles, Feliz.
Runners left in scoring position--Pittsburgh 3 (TRedman, RSanders, Simon); San Francisco 3 (NPerez 2, Galarraga).
DP--Pittsburgh 1 (JWilson, ANunez and Simon); San Francisco 2 (Snow, Ransom and JeWilliams), (Snow and NPerez).
Inherited runners-scored--Beimel 2-0, Herges 3-2.
Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA Vogelsong 2 2/3 4 4 4 1 1 49 11.42 Beimel 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 14 4.10 Corey 1 1 1 1 2 0 23 11.25 Boehringer L, 5-3 2 2 2 2 2 2 39 5.67 Lincoln 1 0 0 0 0 2 12 4.67 San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA JeWilliams 5 1/3 6 5 3 5 2 100 2.96 Herges BS, 3 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 12 2.64 Eyre W, 1-1 1 0 0 0 1 0 18 3.15 Nathan H, 14 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 3.18 Worrell S, 25 1 1 0 0 1 2 25 2.06 IBB--off Vogelsong (JoCruz) 1. HBP--by Vogelsong (Hammonds). WP--Corey, Worrell.
Umpires--Home, Mike DiMuro; First, Derryl Cousins; Second, Andy Fletcher; Third, Joe Brinkman.
T--2:57. A--42,334 (41,503).
