Sunday, September 15, 2002
Giants keep wild-card lead
Bonds ties Aaron for RBI milestone
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — For as tired as Livan Hernandez felt for his start Saturday, he couldn't complain about the result.
Hernandez struggled to sleep the night before after the San Francisco Giants returned home in the wee hours from San Diego.
Yet the right-hander had enough energy to overcome a rough first inning and win his second straight start as the Giants defeated the Padres 12-4.
“I didn't feel strong with all my pitches or mechanics,” he said. ”(The win) is what counts.”
Barry Bonds reached 100 RBIs in a season for the 11th time in his career, tying the NL record set by Hank Aaron.
Bonds hit a pair of run-scoring singles and Pedro Feliz matched his career high with three RBIs as the Giants remained one game ahead of the Dodgers in the NL wild-card race. Los Angeles beat Colorado 16-3.
It was the first scheduled Saturday night game played at Pacific Bell Park in the stadium's three-year history. And it got off to a high-scoring start as the Giants led 5-3 after the first inning.
Giants manager Dusty Baker wasn't sure Hernandez would make it out of the first inning after giving up three quick runs.
“It looked like it was going to be a long night for Livo, but we got some runs back,” Baker said. “It helps a lot. It helped him, it helped us, it helped everybody. It helped the fans. It's big when you can do that, but it's rare.”
Bonds singled off Brett Tomko (9-10) in the first for his 100th RBI. Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig hold the major league record of 13 seasons with 100 RBIs.
Bonds' single marked the 13th straight time he had reached base, two short of the NL record he shares with John Olerud. Bonds' streak ended when he grounded out in the third inning.
In the eighth, Bonds singled home another run. He got a standing ovation when he was replaced by a pinch-runner.
Bonds' early single pulled the Giants within 3-1. With two outs, Reggie Sanders hit a two-run triple and Feliz had a two-run double.
Rich Aurilia added a two-run double in San Francisco's three-run fourth and Sanders also doubled in the inning. Sanders, who had three hits, and Kenny Lofton each scored three runs.
San Diego's Ryan Klesko continued his late-season offensive surge with two doubles and a single off Hernandez (11-15).
He was the only bright spot.
“We were terrible,” Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. “We just didn't play a good ballgame, and things got worse. At the end, it got embarrassing to be honest.”
Hernandez allowed four runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and three walks in 5 2-3 innings to win his second straight start.
Three pitches into the game, the Padres had a 1-0 lead. Ramon Vazquez led off the game with a triple to the wall in right-center, then scored on Mark Kotsay's groundout.
San Diego added two more runs in the inning on an RBI single by Ron Gant and run-scoring double from Gene Kingsale for a 3-0 lead.
Tomko lasted only 3 2-3 innings, allowing eight runs on nine hits.
Notes: Bonds has reached base in 14 of 15 plate appearances in this series. ... The first inning lasted about 40 minutes. ... Hernandez surpassed 200 innings for the third straight season. It's the first time a Giants pitcher has had three straight 200-inning seasons since Vida Blue and Bob Knepper did it from 1978-80. ... Feliz also had three RBIs in a game twice last season. ... Bonds drew his major league-leading 58th intentional walk. He leads the majors with 174 walks overall. ... The Giants went over 3 million in attendance for the third straight season in Pac Bell, reaching 3,012,940 in the team's 75th home date.
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Giants keep wild-card lead