Thursday, May 23, 2002
Bonds ties McGwire with 583rd HR
Giants 12, Diamondbacks 5
The Associated Press
PHOENIX — Barry Bonds caught Mark McGwire — again. The San Francisco slugger hit his 583rd home run, tying McGwire for fifth place on the career list and leading the Giants to a 12-5 victory over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
Bonds, who hit 73 homers last year to break McGwire's single-season record, lofted a two-run shot off Arizona reliever Eddie Oropesa in the sixth inning for his 16th homer this season — one behind Sammy Sosa for the major league lead.
Still, Bonds didn't want to talk about his home run milestone.
“My bag is packed,” he said. “Let the guys who won the game talk.”
Bonds needs three more homers to catch Frank Robinson for fourth place. Giants manager Dusty Baker wasn't as reluctant to talk about Bonds.
“I hope I get asked every game,” Baker said. “That was a big home run, and that intentional walk that he got, he contributes even when he's not hitting home runs.”
Bonds went 1-for-8 in the two-game series, dropping his average to .367. Teammate Reggie Sanders finds himself watching more closely when Bonds is at the plate.
“You want to see what he thinks about — try to pick his brain a little bit and go from there,” Sanders said. “He's definitely at the top of his game.”
David Bell homered twice and drove in three runs for the Giants, the second multihomer game of his career. He hit a leadoff shot in the third inning off Arizona starter Miguel Batista and a two-run drive in the sixth off Mike Morgan (1-1) that gave San Francisco a 5-4 lead.
“Any time you get a hit or you make good contact early, it kind of helps out your confidence and you feel a little better at the plate the next time,” Bell said.
Later in the sixth, Bonds made it 7-4 when he pulled a 2-2 pitch off the foul pole in right field with Ramon Martinez aboard.
Oropesa threw the pitch he wanted.
“I wanted to throw the sinker inside,” he said. “I threw it in there, and he hit it good.”
Marvin Benard capped the six-run inning with a two-run single.
Benito Santiago drove in three runs for the Giants, who won for the third time in seven games, and Jeff Kent had two RBIs.
“Our bullpen, top to bottom, has been very good for us all year long,” Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. “I think it was an aberration tonight. You've all watched the Nature Channel and seen a feeding frenzy, and that's what happened.”
Chad Zerbe (1-0), who took over in the fourth with the Giants trailing 3-2, gave up four hits — including a homer by Junior Spivey — in three innings for the win.
Spivey got an RBI on J.T. Snow's two-run error at first base in the third inning, and homered in the fifth to give the Diamondbacks a 4-3 lead.
San Francisco starter Jason Schmidt also lasted just three innings.
The Giants took a 1-0 lead on Santiago's RBI double in the second. He also had a two-run single.
Arizona right fielder Danny Bautista dislocated his left shoulder diving for Santiago's double and left the game.
Bell led off the third with his seventh homer, but Batista retired three straight before leaving because of a fingernail cut on his right thumb. Arizona took a 3-2 lead in its half when Schmidt gave up a single to Quinton McCracken and walked Luis Gonzalez and Erubiel Durazo to load the bases.
Two runs scored on Spivey's grounder that got through Snow's legs, and Tony Womack gave the Diamondbacks their first lead with an RBI single later in the third.
Chris Donnels homered in the eighth for Arizona.
Notes: Bautista was replaced by McCracken, who robbed Bell with a diving catch in the eighth. Bautista will be out a minimum of one week, but trainer Paul Lessard said surgery might be required if an MRI exam Thursday reveals a torn labrum. ... Bell was 3-for-6 with three runs scored. ... Giants SS Rich Aurilia, on the disabled list retroactive to Monday, had surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow. ... Bell's other multihomer game was May 9 last year for Seattle against Boston.
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Bonds ties McGwire with 583rd HR
