It's Gerald's show

Williams homers for the third straight game as the Rays move within one of a sweep of Expos.

By MARC TOPKIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 15, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Gerald Williams left the Atlanta Braves to sign with the Devil Rays because he wanted a chance to play regularly.

But there has been nothing regular about his play.

Extraordinary would be more like it.

Williams has emerged as one of the Rays' most valuable and versatile players, contributing with his offense, his defense, his speed and his passion for the game.

"Gerald's been huge," pitcher Albie Lopez said.

Friday, Williams drove in four runs on a single and a homer to lead the Rays to an 8-5 victory over Montreal before an announced 15,870 at Tropicana Field.

He had some help, as Lopez overcame a shaky start to work seven innings for his fourth win in his past six starts, the infield turned four double plays and Greg Vaughn chipped in with three hits.

The homer was Williams' 11th of the season, all from the leadoff spot, and marked the first time he had gone deep in three straight games. Even more impressively, he pushed his RBI total to 54, second-best on the team and the second-highest season total of his seven-year career.

"Gerald brings a lot of energy, a lot of energy," Vaughn said. "When you're out there in the outfield with him, you know he's going to run all over the place and he's going to do whatever he has to to get the ball, he's going to throw the ball, he's going to do whatever it takes to help you win.

[Times photo: Carrie Pratt] Gerald Williams drove in four runs on a single and a homer Friday to lead to Rays past Montreal.

"And at the plate he's going to battle. He's going to put the ball in play somehow, some way. We laugh because he talks about his A-ball swing because he ends up in the craziest positions ... but he just flips it over first base or hits a bullet up the middle or hits it out of the ballpark.

"Gerald has a big heart. Adversity -- he's been at the bottom, so there's no panic. There's a lot of heart and desire, and he plays with a passion."

The Rays seem equally divided over whether Williams has been more of a plus defensively, where he roams centerfield with grace and skill, or at the plate, where his run production has been an unexpected bonus.

"I thought we were getting a good centerfielder, and he's played centerfield as well as you can play it here," manager Larry Rothschild said. "The enthusiasm, the energy, all that comes into play. And for a guy in the leadoff spot, and a little bit in the second spot, to have all the RBI he has says something."

What it says is that Williams, 33, is headed toward the best season of his career. A part-time player for much of his career with the Yankees, he hit .275 with 17 homers and 68 RBI in almost regular duty for Braves last season, and he is on pace for even better things.

"This is pretty much the most opportunity I've gotten to play, or am going to get to play," Williams said. "It comes at a time where I had something to build on in terms of at-bats from year-to-year. Those are the most important things in terms of having a chance to enjoy some type of success. You have to have playing time. You have to be able to put your at-bats together. If you play sporadically, that's exactly the way your play is going to be. You're going to be a bit inconsistent."

The Expos had a 1-0 lead when the Rays rallied in the second, Williams bouncing a two-out two-run single up the middle that put them on top for good at 3-1. The Rays built on the lead from there, and Williams made it 7-2 in the sixth when he hit a two-strike, two-out pitch from Tony Armas over the leftfield wall. In his past three games, he is 7-for-15 with nine RBI.

Double plays got Lopez out of trouble in the first two innings, and he got stronger from there, allowing eight hits but just two runs through seven innings.

"Albie threw good pitches and kept the ball down," second baseman Miguel Cairo said. "They hit ground balls, and we tried to do our job."

The Rays have won four of their past six games and are 20-17 since May 31. They are guaranteed their first series win after dropping four straight and five of six, and they are in position today to complete their first three-game series sweep since Aug. 20-22.

They are not, however, getting too carried away with their recent success.

"There are too many games to get too high just over the last two," Vaughn said. "We dug ourselves too big of a hole. We've got a lot of shoveling to do right now.'

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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