Bonds’ Seventh-Inning Homer Beats Dodgers

Barry Bonds’ two-run homer in the seventh inning led San Francisco to a 5-3 victory over the Dodgers Thursday night, helping the Giants move one game ahead of the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals for the National League’s best record.

Bonds hit his 49th homer of the season for the NL West champion Giants (97-64), who finished 5-7 against the Dodgers (84-75) this season. Aaron Fultz (5-2) gained the victory in relief and Robb Nen picked up his 40th save by striking out the side in the ninth. Terry Adams (6-9) suffered the defeat for the Dodgers in their final home game of the season.

Dodger starter Kevin Brown pitched only five innings before leaving with the Giants ahead, 2-1. San Francisco scored its two runs off Brown in the fourth inning when Bonds led off with a single and later scored on a J.T. Snow single. Brown handed the Giants their second run when his wild pitch scored Snow from third base.

The Dodgers cut San Francisco’s lead by one in the bottom half of the fourth when Todd Hundley hit into a fielders’ choice to score Shawn Green. In the sixth, the Dodgers took a 3-2 lead after Gary Sheffield scored on a Hundley single and Eric Karros scored on a sacrifice fly by Paul LoDuca.

The Giants, who finish the regular season this weekend against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Bank One Ballpark, added an insurance run in the eighth when Felipe Crespo hit a pinch-hit home run off Mike Fetters. Crespo’s homer was the 222nd hit by the Giants this year, which is a club record. The old mark was held by the New York Giants, who hit 221 home runs in 1947.

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A crowd of 44,513 attended Thursday’s game, pushing the team’s season attendance over the 3 million mark for the fifth consecutive year and for the 15th time in franchise history, a major league record.

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Third baseman Adrian Beltre did not start because of an injured left foot and was replaced in the lineup by LoDuca. . . . Catcher Angel Pena had successful surgery to repair a ligament in his right thumb on Thursday and is expected to be ready for next season’s spring training.

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A Chicago judge agreed with Dodger attorney Mike Abernathy on Thursday, striking down subpoenas that would have forced several players and coaches, along with Manager Davey Johnson and General Manager Kevin Malone, to testify in a criminal proceeding in connection with the May 16 melee in the stands at Wrigley Field.

An attorney representing Ronald Camacho of Chicago, who has been charged with disorderly conduct, had filed a lawsuit against the Dodgers and Cubs and several players.

Besides Johnson and Malone, the attorney sought testimony from players Shawn Green, Chad Krueter and Gary Sheffield and coaches Rick Dempsey and Glenn Hoffman.

ON DECK

* Opponent--San Diego, three games

* Site--Qualcomm Stadium

* Tonight--7 p.m.

* TV--Fox Sports Net 2 tonight, Channel 5 Sunday

* Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330).

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ CHAN HO PARK

(17-10, 3.40)

vs.

PADRES’ WOODY WILLIAMS

(10-7, 3.83 ERA)

* Update--Park is making his 34th start of the season and has held the opposition to three earned runs or less in 13 of his last 15 starts. Park is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in three starts against the Padres this season. Williams is second on the Padres in strikeouts with 103.