Ah, Holm on Mother's Day

SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Holm purchased an unforgettable Mother's Day present on Sunday. All it cost him was his helmet and his bat.

With his mother, Bobbie, watching in the stands, Holm hit his first major league home run, a two-run shot in the seventh inning. Giants officials tracked down the fan who caught the ball in the left field bleachers, and the 28-year-old rookie traded some equipment for it.

It was a gift his teammates gladly shared, because it put the Giants ahead in a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at AT&T Park.

"We'll see how good a mother she is on Mother's Day," Holm said with a laugh. "Nah, I'll give it to her." The Sacramento native hit the first pitch he saw from Phillies left-hander J.C. Romero. He had entered the game in the top of the inning after the Giants pinch-ran for Bengie Molina in the sixth.

The bullpen worked 4 scoreless innings in relief of Jonathan Sanchez, and Brian Wilson recorded his 11th save as the Giants took two of three from the Phillies to split the six-game season series.

There are unexpected heroes that surface during every season, and Holm definitely qualified. A surprise choice to back up Bengie Molina on the opening-day roster, Holm caught the eye of manager Bruce Bochy with the quiet and assured way he handled pitchers.

"He looks comfortable up there," Bochy said. "He's handled everything we've thrown at him."

Including a couple of shaving cream pies. Holm partially deflected

Jack Taschner's effort to smear him on a live television interview, and he ducked just as Vinnie Chulk tried to get him a second time on his way to the shower.

"I had my head on a swivel," Holm said. "(Aaron) Rowand was over there in his chair, and he's never sitting down so I knew something was up. I had to oblige it a little bit, but I got Taschner's arm. I didn't get the full effect. They didn't get what they were looking for."

Holm showed the same moxie by taking a big cut on the first pitch. The Giants were trailing 3-2 before Randy Winn singled to extend the game to Holm, who had taken over the cleanup spot from Molina.

Holm looked for "what I got, a fastball a little up. 'Be as aggressive as you can be,' that's what they tell you when you come off the bench. I didn't know it went out till I got to second base. From there, it was just making sure I didn't fall down or do anything stupid."

Holm's swing helped the Giants avoid what would have been a frustrating loss. They had the makings of three huge innings against Adam Eaton, but Jose Castillo grounded sharply into two double plays and lined into a third. Bochy didn't want to remove Molina, his cleanup hitter, but had to pinch-run for Molina when he was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth.

"It's really tough for me to come out of a heated game like that," Molina said. "When he hit it, man, you don't even know. I was the happiest guy on earth right there. For him to come up big, you cannot write it any better.

"I have a lot of respect for that kid. He's very open-minded. He'll come to me and ask questions, or I'll go to him with questions. I'm not better than him, and he's not better than me. We're all trying hard to win between the lines. He wants to win as much as I do."

How they scored

Giants second: Molina singled. Rowand walked, Molina to second. Bowker singled, Molina scored. Giants 1, Phillies 0.

Phillies fourth: Burrell walked with one out. Feliz doubled with two outs, Burrell to third. Ruiz was intentionally walked. Eaton walked, Burrell scored. Giants 1, Phillies 1.

Giants fourth: Molina doubled. Rowand walked. Bowker singled, Molina to third, Rowand to second. Castillo grounded into a double play, Molina scored. Giants 2, Phillies 1.

Phillies fifth: Utley walked with one out. Howard tripled, Utley scored. Burrell hit a sacrifice fly, Howard scored. Phillies 3, Giants 2.

Giants seventh: Winn singled with two outs. Holm homered to left, Winn scored. Giants 4, Phillies 3.