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Ortiz gets sweet revenge, Giants beat Diamondbacks

Apr 21, 2007 - 7:07 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Russ Ortiz wanted to show his former team there is still life in his right arm.

Ortiz pitched seven solid innings as the San Francisco Giants posted a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After snapping a personal 12-game losing streak and recording his first win since August 29, 2005 last Friday in an 8-5 win against Pittsburgh, Ortiz (2-1) allowed two runs, eight hits and two walks against the very team which released him mid-season in 2006.

"I think at the beginning of the game with facing (Eric Byrnes) and I know Stephen (Drew) pretty well, you go down the line, Orlando (Hudson), Trace (Chad Tracy) and especially Tony Clark, who's one of my real good friends," Ortiz said of facing his former team. "I was more anxious than anything, not nervous to where ... just the anxiety of facing them but that would happen with any former team you face."

The righthander signed a $22 million contract with Arizona in 2005, but was released last June after going 0-5 with a 7.54 ERA in six starts. The 10-year veteran then went 0-3 while finishing the season with Baltimore.

"It was just a matter of finding (my mechanics)," Ortiz said. "I was able to be blessed to be put in the right spots to make that happen. I was doing everything I could to try to figure it out and it so happens I got the opportunity in Baltimore, that's how we got that figured out and now I got the opportunity here with (pitching coach Dave Righetti) to keep me going on that same path."

Armando Benitez walked two batters in the ninth before getting Orlando Hudson to ground out to second with runners on the corner for his third save.

"He was a little off on the first hitter," Bochy said. "But he regrouped and made some great pitches."

Barry Bonds had two hits and scored twice and Bengie Molina drove in two runs for San Francisco, which has won five of six after starting the season with one victory in its first seven contests.

Trailing, 1-0, with two outs in the bottom of the first, the Giants loaded the bases against Doug Davis before Molina walked on four pitches.

Pedro Feliz followed with an infield popup which fell to the ground after second baseman Hudson and shortstop Drew crashed into each other. The error which was charged to Hudson, allowed Bonds and Ray Durham to score, giving the Giants a 3-1 lead.

"We didn't play as crisply as we can, we gave them the two (runs) on the popup," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. We run into an out at third with nobody out."

"It's a difficult situation," Drew said. "I called three times but it was so loud. He heard me just as he put up his glove. It was too late. Everything kind of collided. That's baseball for you."

Molina also had an RBI single in the fifth.

Davis (1-2) allowed four runs - two earned - and seven hits in six innings for Arizona, which has dropped seven of its last 10 here.