Edmonds Takes Spotlight in Win

It was a quiet Sunday night for Barry Bonds and the man he’s chasing.

Bonds flied out four times and walked once, and Mark McGwire was 0 for 4 with two pop-ups and two strikeouts as the St. Louis Cardinals, behind four runs batted in from Jim Edmonds and resourceful pitching from Matt Morris, defeated the San Francisco Giants, 7-3.

“He’s their most dangerous hitter,” Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said of Bonds. “He got us once and it was a big blow, but we ended up winning the game he got us in.

“He’s a very, very tough out and everything he’s doing is legitimate.”

Bonds was one for nine with one homer and six walks in the three-game series at Busch Stadium, where McGwire broke Roger Maris’ home run record and hit No. 70 in 1998. Bonds flied out four times to left--one a foul ball--and remained at 39 homers.

Bonds didn’t have much to say after the game.

“I don’t know what you’re hanging around for,” Bonds said. “I didn’t do anything.”

McGwire is the fastest ever to 40, doing it in 90 games in 1998, and this was the Giants’ 75th game. Bonds already has hit more homers before the All-Star game than any player in history, and the Giants have 13 games remaining before the break.

“It hasn’t been a distraction for us,” Manager Dusty Baker said. “The only distraction is the amount of media coverage. We have to take the time and energy to talk to you.”

Morris (10-4) gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second, left them loaded in the sixth and stranded two runners in the third and fourth.