Dave Williams picked a bad day to make his return to the big leagues.

    <p>It was supposed to be a feel-good story, an uplifting tale of perseverence in the face of hardship.  A 17th-round pick in the 1998 draft, Williams spent his first two professional seasons racking up a 9-5 record and 3.02 ERA, mostly in the New York-Penn League.  The 6-foot-3 lefty then burst onto the prospect scene in 2000, leading all of minor league baseball in strikeouts with 201 in just 188 innings at Single-A, all but 11 of them with Hickory of the South Atlantic League.</p>
    <p>The Pirates were so impressed that they promoted Williams to Double-A to start the 2001 season and put him on the fast track.  After nine appearances at Altoona, he moved up to Triple-A in late May and was recalled by the Pirates on June 5th.  The product of Delaware Tech was impressive enough to earn a spot in the Bucs' rotation and he made his first start on June 25th at home against the Brewers, earning the win by allowing four earned runs in five innings.</p>
    <p>While the Brewers' lineup included just one player (<b><a href="http://www.brewerfan.net/ViewPlayerProfile.do?playerId=245" title="Geoff Jenkins - BrewerFan.net Profile">Geoff Jenkins</a></b>) that remains on the team, the Pirates' nine included a trio of current Bucs at the top of the order (Abraham Nunez, Rob Mackowiak, and Jason Kendall).</p>
    <p>[<a href="http://www.brewerfan.net/ViewDailyReport.do?dailyReportId=314" title="Sheets Spoils Williams' Return With CG Win - The Daily Brew">Continue Reading at Brewerfan.net</a>]</p>