Giants Go Long and Win, 12-7

The San Francisco Giants swept aside the Arizona Diamondbacks with a powerful hitting display Sunday.

Bill Mueller and Bobby Estalella homered during an eight-run first inning and Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent and Rich Aurilia also hit homers in the Giants’ 12-7 victory.

“We’re a good offensive team,” said Kent, who was six for 15 with two homers and eight RBIs in the Giants’ three-game sweep. “We were bound to get some good hits. It was a matter of time.”

The Giants entered the series with only four victories in 15 games.

Bonds hit his 453rd home run, a two-run shot in the ninth, to take sole possession of 21st place on the career list.

“We hit the ball well this series against a team that’s near the top of the league in pitching,” Giant Manager Dusty Baker said. “The big thing is we don’t play Arizona again until September. What you’re doing then, in essence, is relying on other people to beat them for you.”

Luis Gonzalez hit his fifth homer and Erubiel Durazo hit his third for Arizona, which has lost three in a row for the first time since Aug. 31-Sept. 3. The Diamondbacks had not been swept since losing three to Cincinnati on June 21-23.

The Giants had eight batters reach base safely before the Diamondbacks recorded an out. The eight-run inning was their largest since they scored nine runs in the fifth inning against Oakland on June 22, 1998.

“To have the pitcher up, be leading 8-0 and having nobody out, that was kind of weird,” Kent said.

Armando Reynoso (1-3) yielded seven runs, six hits and walked one without retiring a batter in the shortest outing of his career.

“I was trying to get the ball down and it was tough,” Reynoso said. “I just want to forget about today and think about next time.”