Stairs’ Homer Takes Spotlight Away From Bonds’ Big Game

Matt Stairs took a different approach and it worked out fine.

Stairs hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and drove in four runs as the Oakland Athletics overcame two home runs by Barry Bonds to beat the San Francisco Giants, 9-7, Saturday.

Bonds homered in the first and fifth innings, giving him the major league lead with 22, one more than Mark McGwire. Bonds has two multihomer games this season and 44 in his career, tied for 12th with Willie McCovey and Mike Schmidt.

With 467 homers, Bonds is 20th on the career list, eight behind Stan Musial and Willie Stargell.

“It’s not hard to get pumped up when Barry Bonds hits two home runs . . .” said Stairs, whose seventh-inning homer off Alan Embree (0-1) was his ninth of the year but first off a left-hander.

With San Francisco leading, 5-4, Olmedo Saenz walked leading off the seventh. John Jaha, just off the disabled list, singled with two out and Stairs hit the go-ahead drive.

“I just went up and let it go,” he said. “Forget about mechanics and just put us on the board.

“I had a little more confidence facing left-handers [Saturday], while before I’d walk up to the plate looking over my shoulder to see if I was getting pinch-hit for.”

Jeff Tam walked Ramon Martinez with the bases loaded in the eighth as the Giants closed within a run, but Randy Velarde hit a two-run homer in the bottom half off John Johnstone to make the score 9-6.

“It’s tough to come back after Velarde’s home run,” Giant Manager Dusty Baker said.

“We didn’t get a lot of opportunities to score. They shut us down and they got the hits and walks when they needed them.”

Doug Jones (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief, and Jason Isringhausen got three out for his 13th save.

Oakland, which won Friday’s opener of the interleague series, extended its winning streak to four.

A’s Manager Art Howe presented the lineup card dressed in a suit and straw hat in honor of Connie Mack, selected as the Athletics’ manager of the century on Saturday.

Both teams wore replicas of their uniforms in 1911, when the Philadelphia A’s beat the New York Giants, 4-3, in the World Series.

Oakland’s Tim Hudson, unbeaten in eight starts since April 20 in Cleveland, gave up five runs and seven hits in six innings. Bonds’ first homer ended Hudson’s 16-inning scoreless streak.