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Barry Bonds ties Hank Aaron's NL HR mark
For Barry Bonds, being able to tie Hank Aaron's NL home run record in the same city where Aaron started and ended his career was special.
Bonds' only regret was that he hit his 733rd homer Friday night at Miller Park and not Milwaukee County Stadium, where Aaron connected many times during his 22-year career.
"It would have been kind of cool in the old ballpark because it is where he actually played his games," Bonds said. "Nevertheless, it is still in Milwaukee and it is still great."
Bonds' home run and six RBIs weren't enough for San Francisco, though, and the Milwaukee Brewers outslugged the slumping Giants 13-12.
But the highlight of the night was Bonds' 25th home run of the season, his first since Sept. 13, which left him 22 homers behind Aaron's career record of 755.
With runners on first and third, the 42-year-old Bonds hit a 2-0 pitch from reliever Chris Spurling that traveled 403 feet and just cleared the wall in center field to give the Giants an 11-10 lead.
Spurling was the 433rd major league pitcher that Bonds has homered against.
Bonds said the tying the NL record was special "because it is the only league I've played in."
"It just barely went over," he said. "I feel good right now."
Brewers manager Ned Yost said he planned to walk Bonds in the sixth inning, but Spurling walked Shea Hillenbrand, who batted before Bonds.
"We were going to walk Bonds and face (Ray) Durham in that situation," Yost said. "But, it didn't materialize and we made another mistake to Bonds and he hit it over the center-field wall."
Bonds added two doubles, giving him 586 to move past Rafael Palmeiro into 14th place on the career list.
Bonds' six RBIs tied the Giants' season high. Pedro Feliz also had six RBIs on June 15 at Arizona. It was the sixth time in Bonds' 20-year career he's had six RBIs in a game. The last time was Aug. 29, 2004, at Atlanta. His career high is seven RBIs, accomplished Oct. 1, 1993, at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Giants bench coach Ron Wotus, who was filling in for suspended manager Felipe Alou, called Bonds "the greatest player I've ever seen."
"To be able to watch him tie that record is pretty special," Wotus said.
Bonds would not say whether he'll return next season to try and break Aaron's record.
"The only thing I want to do is go home after the season," he said. "I'm not even thinking about next year. I just want to go home and watch my son's football games."
David Bell's infield single in the eighth inning drove in the go-ahead run for Milwaukee, which rallied from deficits of 4-0 and 12-10.
The loss was the seventh in nine games for the Giants, whose postseason hopes are fading quickly.
Both teams sent nine players to the plate in the first inning, the first time that's happened in the major leagues since May 11, 2005, when Seattle and the New York Yankees accomplished the feat.
With the Brewers trailing 12-10, Tony Gwynn led off the eighth with a single and Corey Hart followed with a double. Gwynn scored on Prince Fielder's groundout, and Bill Hall knocked in Hart with a two-out single.
Geoff Jenkins walked and Hall went to third on a wild pitch. Vinnie Chulk (0-3) then walked Cirillo, loading the bases. Bell hit a grounder to shortstop Omar Vizquel, but Cirillo beat his throw to second and Hall scored to give the Brewers a 13-12 lead.
Jose Capellan (3-2) got the win and Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 14 chances.
Durham hit his 25th home run in the eighth to increase the Giants' lead to 12-10.
Jonathan Sanchez pitched just two-plus innings for the Giants, giving up eight runs and eight hits.
Rookie catcher Mike Rivera had a career-high three hits and drove in three runs, and Kevin Mench added three hits and three RBIs for the Brewers. Doug Davis pitched five innings, giving up seven runs and nine hits.
Source: AP
Bonds' only regret was that he hit his 733rd homer Friday night at Miller Park and not Milwaukee County Stadium, where Aaron connected many times during his 22-year career.
"It would have been kind of cool in the old ballpark because it is where he actually played his games," Bonds said. "Nevertheless, it is still in Milwaukee and it is still great."
Bonds' home run and six RBIs weren't enough for San Francisco, though, and the Milwaukee Brewers outslugged the slumping Giants 13-12.
But the highlight of the night was Bonds' 25th home run of the season, his first since Sept. 13, which left him 22 homers behind Aaron's career record of 755.
With runners on first and third, the 42-year-old Bonds hit a 2-0 pitch from reliever Chris Spurling that traveled 403 feet and just cleared the wall in center field to give the Giants an 11-10 lead.
Spurling was the 433rd major league pitcher that Bonds has homered against.
Bonds said the tying the NL record was special "because it is the only league I've played in."
"It just barely went over," he said. "I feel good right now."
Brewers manager Ned Yost said he planned to walk Bonds in the sixth inning, but Spurling walked Shea Hillenbrand, who batted before Bonds.
"We were going to walk Bonds and face (Ray) Durham in that situation," Yost said. "But, it didn't materialize and we made another mistake to Bonds and he hit it over the center-field wall."
Bonds added two doubles, giving him 586 to move past Rafael Palmeiro into 14th place on the career list.
Bonds' six RBIs tied the Giants' season high. Pedro Feliz also had six RBIs on June 15 at Arizona. It was the sixth time in Bonds' 20-year career he's had six RBIs in a game. The last time was Aug. 29, 2004, at Atlanta. His career high is seven RBIs, accomplished Oct. 1, 1993, at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Giants bench coach Ron Wotus, who was filling in for suspended manager Felipe Alou, called Bonds "the greatest player I've ever seen."
"To be able to watch him tie that record is pretty special," Wotus said.
Bonds would not say whether he'll return next season to try and break Aaron's record.
"The only thing I want to do is go home after the season," he said. "I'm not even thinking about next year. I just want to go home and watch my son's football games."
David Bell's infield single in the eighth inning drove in the go-ahead run for Milwaukee, which rallied from deficits of 4-0 and 12-10.
The loss was the seventh in nine games for the Giants, whose postseason hopes are fading quickly.
Both teams sent nine players to the plate in the first inning, the first time that's happened in the major leagues since May 11, 2005, when Seattle and the New York Yankees accomplished the feat.
With the Brewers trailing 12-10, Tony Gwynn led off the eighth with a single and Corey Hart followed with a double. Gwynn scored on Prince Fielder's groundout, and Bill Hall knocked in Hart with a two-out single.
Geoff Jenkins walked and Hall went to third on a wild pitch. Vinnie Chulk (0-3) then walked Cirillo, loading the bases. Bell hit a grounder to shortstop Omar Vizquel, but Cirillo beat his throw to second and Hall scored to give the Brewers a 13-12 lead.
Jose Capellan (3-2) got the win and Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 14 chances.
Durham hit his 25th home run in the eighth to increase the Giants' lead to 12-10.
Jonathan Sanchez pitched just two-plus innings for the Giants, giving up eight runs and eight hits.
Rookie catcher Mike Rivera had a career-high three hits and drove in three runs, and Kevin Mench added three hits and three RBIs for the Brewers. Doug Davis pitched five innings, giving up seven runs and nine hits.
Source: AP