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Jerome Williams gave the San Francisco Giants just what they needed Saturday night -- a well-pitched game by a starter.
The result was their second victory in 10 games.
Williams pitched 8 2-3 strong innings, and Ray Durham hit his 27th career leadoff homer to help the Giants beat Los Angeles 5-3 for their first victory over the Dodgers this season following four losses -- all by one run.
``Jerome was the story -- he pitched a great game,'' Giants catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. ``He was using all his pitches, sinking the ball in and out. When he does that, he's very effective.''
Barry Bonds went hitless in one at-bat with three walks as the Giants handed the NL West-leading Dodgers just their third loss in 10 games.
Williams (3-1) allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five. He came within an out of the third complete game of his career and the first by the Giants this year.
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The Giants have a 4.87 team ERA.
The 22-year-old right-hander was sharp despite being hit in the back of his pitching shoulder by Jeff Weaver's liner in the third that deflected to shortstop Neifi Perez, who threw Weaver out.
The next two batters singled, but Williams held the Dodgers hitless after that until Shawn Green singled with one out in the ninth. Williams left after allowing Juan Encarnacion's two-run, two-out homer, and Matt Herges got the last out for his sixth save in seven chances.
``I felt it -- I was kind of having flashbacks when I was small, playing football on the pavement,'' Williams said of Weaver's line drive, which left a welt on the back of his shoulder.
``I wasn't getting tired at all,'' said Williams, who threw 117 pitches. ``Just a couple pitches I left up.''
Durham hit a 1-2 pitch from Weaver (1-2) into the right-field pavilion for his second homer to give the Giants a quick 1-0 lead. They scored two more runs in the first on Michael Tucker's two-out, two-run double.
The Dodgers got a run in the second on a hit batsman, Paul Lo Duca's single and Adrian Beltre's sacrifice fly.
AP - Apr 24, 11:56 pm EDT
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That was it until the ninth.
``He kept us off-balance with his off-speed stuff,'' Lo Duca said. ``It seemed like every time he had a hitter's count, he threw a slider or a changeup, and we didn't make the adjustments.
Pierzynski's two-run single in the eighth off Tom Martin gave the Giants a 5-1 lead. The runs were charged to Weaver, who left with the bases loaded and nobody out. Weaver allowed seven hits and five runs while walking five and striking out six.
``I've been struggling. Everybody's been struggling with guys on base,'' Pierzynski said. ``I finally got one to fall.''
Bonds, booed every time he came up, drew his fourth straight intentional walk and 12th in his team's 18 games when Weaver put him on with one out and a runner at second in the first. Tucker foiled the strategy with his bases-loaded double, ending an 0-for-9 slump.
Bonds had reached base safely in 10 straight plate appearances (2-for-2 with eight walks) before grounding to short with two outs and nobody on in the fifth. He walked and scored in the eighth.
Dodgers outfielder Milton Bradley was ejected by plate umpire Sam Holbrook after arguing a called third strike to end the first. Bradley was upset a night earlier when Holbrook called him out on a close play at first base in the ninth inning of a tie game.
``I asked him, `You got a grudge from last night?' And he never said anything. He just kicked me out,'' Bradley said. ``Then I said to him, `Tell me it was a strike, and I'll walk away.'''
Bradley said Holbrook cursed and said the pitch was on the corner.
Notes
The game was played before a sellout crowd of 54,820 -- the ninth-largest regular-season
crowd in Dodger Stadium history. ... Giants CF Marquis Grissom didn't play because
of a mild strain in his left foot that caused him to leave Friday night's game
in the eighth inning. ``A day off or two, I'll be all right,'' he said. ...
The Dodgers activated RHP Brian Falkenborg from the 15-day disabled list and
optioned OF Chin-Feng Chen to Triple-A Las Vegas. ... Dodgers SS Cesar Izturis
singled in the third to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
... The Giants' 5-4, 12-inning loss to the Dodgers on Friday night dropped them
into last place in the NL West for the first time since April 30, 2000. They
rebounded to win the division title that year with a big league-best 97-65 record.
... Bonds is hitting .512 with nine homers, 20 RBIs and 27 walks -- 12 of them
intentional. As a team, theGiants entered the game hitting .245 with 16 homers
and 64 RBIs.