Bonds

        It's a different Cinergy Field, but it's the same old Barry Bonds. Put the two together, and the likely result is a home run. It's something Reds pitchers will try to avoid, but they won't violate baseball protocol to do so.

        Bonds, the major leagues' home-run leader with 47, tonight begins a three-game appearance here with his San Francisco Giants teammates. He needs one homer to become the top visiting slugger in the stadium's history. Bonds and Philadelphia Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt are tied with 29 Cinergy/Riverfront Stadium homers apiece.

        Bonds' home-run pace has launched speculation about his chances of breaking Mark McGwire's all-time single-season record of 70, set in 1998 with St. Louis. But the Reds won't necessarily avoid Bonds in an attempt to neutralize him, as some opponents did in '98 against McGwire and Chicago's Sammy Sosa, who finished with 66 homers.

        While sweeping the Giants in a three-game series April 24-26, the Reds challenged Bonds when it was safe and skirted him when he batted in crucial situations. The result: Bonds homered twice and doubled twice, going 4-for-10 in the series with seven RBI, a strikeout and four walks — including a four-pitch free pass from Pete Harnisch with two outs and nobody on base in the first inning of the series finale.

        “We'll pitch him like we pitched him (in April),” Reds manager Bob Boone said of Bonds. “And you're going to have to pitch to him a little more. When we first saw him, (Jeff) Kent wasn't doing really well. Now you have to respect Kent and (Andres) Galarraga a little bit more.

        “We don't have any extra plans. It's not like we're going to walk him every time. But if he can hurt us, we probably would (walk him). So it's nothing different. It's certainly not, "Keep him away from the record.' It's, "Don't let this guy hurt you.' We're certainly not going to challenge him every time. We're going to play the game like it's supposed to be played.”

        Reds closer Danny Graves, against whom Bonds is 2-for-3 lifetime, cited the risk in changing pitching philosophy against a premier slugger.

        “Once you try to say, "I have to make this pitch a great one so he doesn't hit a home run on it,' then you make a mistake ... and that's when they hit home runs,” Graves said. “You have to stay aggressive and pitch the same way you always do.”

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