Carter Plays Out String

Days like these might tempt Joe Carter to think again about retiring after this season.

“No, that’s in stone,” Carter said after going three for five with a double and home run to help the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3, Saturday.

“I never said I was going to retire because I couldn’t do the job anymore,” Carter said. “I’ve won two championships, and I want one more, but I want to go home and see my kids.”

Baltimore figured Carter wasn’t going to do the job for the Orioles anymore, shipping him to the Giants for a minor leaguer.

“I picked up eight or nine games in the standings coming here,” Carter said. “I went from 10 games out in the wild card in Baltimore to one or two games out here. That’s an opportunity.”

In San Francisco, Carter started in a one for 12 slump. But Giants Manager Dusty Baker kept waiting for the right time to keep using him. With regular first baseman J.T. Snow nursing a sprained right wrist, now’s as good a time an any.

“He’s made a living driving in runs,” Baker said. “It takes time to adjust to the philosophy of the league and to learn the pitchers. Fortunately, he’s facing a lot of the teams that he faced earlier in interleague play.”

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Next Series for Dodgers

Who: Philadelphia Phillies

Where: Dodger Stadium

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Wednesday: 7:30 p.m.