Wednesday, August 07, 2002
Bonds hits 599th homer
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds' 599th homer wasn't even the most exciting part of a wild victory for the San Francisco Giants. Bonds moved to the doorstep of the exclusive 600-homer club with an early three-run shot, and the Giants scored three runs in the eighth to beat the Chicago Cubs 11-10 Tuesday night.
Bonds drove in four runs, and his 432-foot drive into right-center field in the third inning moved him within one homer of joining Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays with 600.
Bonds must wait at least one more night to become the first player in 31 years to join the 600 club. Robb Nen joined his own exclusive club by getting the final three outs for his 300th save — though he made it as difficult as possible on himself.
Nen allowed a run in the ninth and was forced to get two outs with the bases loaded, but he escaped — becoming the youngest player to record 300 saves at age 32.
Bonds was actually glad his 600th homer didn't come on the same night as Nen's milestone.
“That makes it a lot better,” Bonds said. “So can I go now, and let him have his night?”
Aside from the latest demonstration of Bonds' pure power, however, nothing about the game was graceful.
After Chicago rallied from two big early deficits to take a late lead, San Francisco won it with an eighth-inning comeback — and a frantic ninth-inning stand that included the ejection of Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez, who appeared to threaten plate umpire Justin Klemm with his bat after a called third strike.
The fireworks finally ended when Nen got Joe Girardi to ground out with the bases loaded. On the way off the field, Nen tipped his cap to the crowd for the first time in his major league career.
“I've made a lot of games interesting, but it seems like I get out of them,” said Nen, the 16th member of the 300-save club. “This is something you always dream about.”
The Giants got in position for Nen's save with a late rally. Down 9-8, they loaded the bases in the ninth against Kyle Farnsworth (3-4).
Jeff Kent hit a hard grounder to Bill Mueller, and as David Bell scored the tying run, Mueller — the former Giants third baseman — threw wildly past first baseman Fred McGriff for an error that allowed J.T. Snow and Kenny Lofton to score as well.
Tim Worrell (8-1) worked the eighth for the victory.
Trailing 11-9, the Cubs — who rallied from 4-0 and 7-4 deficits earlier in the evening — weren't done. Sammy Sosa singled and scored on Moises Alou's single off Nen, and Corey Patterson's double sent Alou to third.
The bases were loaded when Nen struck out Gonzalez, who didn't immediately realize it was his third strike. He began a vehement argument with Klemm, and he pointed his bat in Klemm's direction after Cubs manager Bruce Kimm was holding him back.
The late-inning theatrics came on another historic night for Bonds, who also had an RBI double in the first.
In the third, Aurilia singled and Kent walked to set up Bonds, who hammered a 1-2 pitch from Chicago rookie Steve Smyth into one of Pac Bell's deepest reaches. Bonds stood in the batter's box to admire his drive, then slowly circled the bases. He gave a curtain call to the sellout crowd moments later.
“I threw a big, fat 87-mph cookie right at him,” Smyth said. “Of course he was going to hit it out.”
Camera flashes sparkled all over Pacific Bell Park on each pitch of Bonds' three at-bats following the homer, but he struck out looking in the fifth, walked in the seventh and was intentionally walked in the eighth.
“He's a great hitter. I think it's proven that he's going to get his home runs off anybody,” Kimm said.
Fred McGriff hit an early three-run homer for the Cubs, tying Ellis Burks' three-day-old record by going deep in his 41st major league ballpark. The Cubs, who opened a six-game road trip, went up 9-7 with three runs in the seventh, including a go-ahead sacrifice fly by Alou.
Smyth's major league debut was forgettable. He was rocked for six hits and seven runs in three innings as the rest of the Giants followed Bonds' lead.
“He didn't really pitch bad,” Bonds said of Smyth. “He made some pretty good pitches. He has a good slider. He just got behind hitters.”
In the first inning alone, Smyth yielded a leadoff triple by Lofton, a sacrifice fly by Rich Aurilia, a single by Kent and a long RBI double by Bonds, who easily would have turned it into a triple if he wasn't slowed by a hamstring injury. After an out, Reggie Sanders homered to right.
Sosa hit an RBI double during the Cubs' four-run third, and Mueller added a run-scoring double in the fourth.
Notes: It was Bonds' 43rd intentional walk this season. He's two behind the major league record for one season. ... Bobby Bonds clapped and cheered for his son from a seat in a luxury suite. Last month, he had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his kidney. ... McGriff still hasn't homered in Arizona or Pittsburgh's new park. The Cubs visit Phoenix Aug. 23-25, and they'll be at PNC Park Sept. 20-22.
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Bonds hits 599th homer 
