60,789 Watch Padres Win, 10-3

Ruben Rivera’s three-run homer capped a seven-run eighth inning and the San Diego Padres defeated the San Francisco Giants, 10-3, Friday night in an NL West showdown in front of 60,789, the biggest baseball crowd ever in San Diego.

The Padres, who trailed, 3-0, after a two-run homer by Barry Bonds and a solo shot by Rey Sanchez, broke a first-place tie with the Giants.

A postgame fireworks show, coupled with the Padres selling seats they normally don’t sell in expanded Qualcomm Stadium, accounted for the crowd, the largest in the majors this season.

They got what they came for when the Padres sent 11 batters to the plate in the eighth and scored the seven runs on five hits, a walk and an error to win their fifth in a row.

Quilvio Veras, who scored the tying run in the seventh on Ken Caminiti’s double, singled off Jim Poole for the go-ahead run with no one out in the eighth. Veras’ third consecutive single scored Chris Gomez, who opened the eighth with a base hit off Steve Reed (2-1). Reed fielded Mandy Romero’s bunt, wheeled and threw wide of shortstop Rich Aurilla covering second, allowing Gomez to take third.

Greg Vaughn added an RBI double and Wally Joyner hit a bases-loaded, two-run single, the first time in three opportunities that the Padres scored with the bases loaded.

Rivera homered to left with one out, his second of the year.

Dan Miceli (6-2) pitched two-thirds of an inning for the win.

Bonds homered to right on a 1-and-1 pitch from left-hander Sterling Hitchcock with one out in the fifth to give San Francisco a 3-0 lead.

Bonds has more homers, 48, and RBIs, 118, against the Padres than against any other team. He has 26 homers and 58 RBIs at Qualcomm Stadium. Bonds had left Wednesday’s game against Seattle with tightness in his left calf after being hit by a pitch.