Braves Overcome Bonds’ Barrage

The Atlanta Braves got tired of watching Barry Bonds hit home runs. Or maybe they were just taking notes.

The Braves overcame two more homers by Bonds, hitting five of their own to beat the San Francisco Giants, 11-6, Sunday at Atlanta.

Wes Helms hit a three-run homer in the fourth and a solo shot in the seventh, when Giant reliever Alan Embree gave up four homers, tying a major league record.

“That was a barrage,” said Atlanta starter John Burkett, who gave up Bonds’ first homer. “I think our hitters were watching Barry and learning how to do it.”

Bonds, who hit three homers Saturday night, became the 23rd player to hit five homers in two games and only the eighth to hit six homers in three games.

He has seven homers in the last four games and 21 during a 33-game stretch that has seen him eclipse 500 and move past Eddie Murray, Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews and Ernie Banks on the overall list.

Bonds ranks 13th all-time with 516 homers, only five behind Willie McCovey and Ted Williams in 11th place.

Bonds declined comment after the game. He sat alone on a clubhouse sofa, watching the final minutes of an NBA playoff game between Charlotte and Milwaukee.

“It’s awesome,” Giant Manager Dusty Baker said of Bonds’ performance. “He’s hitting right-handers, left-handers, everybody. I just wish we had gotten another victory out of his hot bat.”

Bonds hit a solo shot in the first, walked in his next two at-bats, then sent a 436-foot drive over the center-field wall against Mike Remlinger.

Bonds leads the majors with 22 homers.

Bonds has homered in four consecutive official at-bats--including his last two appearances Saturday night--tying another major league record.

Bonds didn’t get a chance for another homer. He came out in the eighth after the Braves scored five runs in the sixth and four in the seventh. Baker said he wasn’t aware that Bonds had a chance to make more history.

Milwaukee’s Geoff Jenkins was the last player to hit five homers in two games, accomplishing the feat April 28-29 this season against Montreal. Manny Ramirez, playing for the Cleveland Indians in 1998, was the last player before Bonds to hit six homers in three games.

The Braves fell behind, 3-0, against Livan Hernandez (3-6), but went ahead for good in the sixth. Dave Martinez hit a two-run single to give the Braves a 4-3 lead before Helms sent his first homer into the left-field seats.

Embree came on in the seventh and immediately gave up consecutive homers to Andruw Jones and Brian Jordan.

Embree finally got an out, only to have Javy Lopez hit another solo homer. Helms finished the flurry with a two-out drive that sailed 443 feet, one of the longest homers in Turner Field history.

Embree, a former Brave, became the 11th National League pitcher to give up four homers in one inning. The Braves also tied the franchise record for homers in an inning, the last time coming in June 1997.

Pittsburgh 8, Milwaukee 7--Emil Brown’s run-scoring single against David Weathers (1-2) completed a five-run eighth as the Pirates overcame a 7-0 deficit at Pittsburgh.

The Pirates had not rallied from seven runs since beating the Brewers 8-7 on Sept. 8, 1998.

Devon White hit his record-tying third grand slam of the month for the Brewers.

San Diego 5, Montreal 3--Ryan Klesko hit a three-run double against Ugueth Urbina in the eighth to rally the Padres at Montreal.

Phil Nevin’s seventh-inning homer against Javier Vazquez (4-5) had pulled the Padres to within 3-2.

Bobby Jones (2-5) pitched seven innings to win for only the second time in nine starts since signing with the Padres.

Trevor Hoffman pitched a hitless ninth for his seventh save in eight chances.

St. Louis 3, Philadelphia 1--Fernando Vina’s home run against Amaury Telemaco in the seventh broke a 1-1 tie at Philadelphia.

Dustin Hermanson (5-1) gave up one run and five hits in seven innings as the Cardinals ended the Phillies’ three-game winning streak.

Dave Veres pitched 1 1/3 innings for his fifth save.

Chicago 6, Arizona 5--Kevin Tapani (6-1) gave up two hits in seven shutout innings and the Cubs survived a five-run ninth by the Diamondbacks at Chicago.

Kyle Farnsworth gave up a run-scoring double to Craig Counsell and a two-run double to pinch-hitter Danny Bautista before Jeff Fassero got three out for his 10th save.

Cincinnati 6, Houston 5--Michael Tucker and Sean Casey hit consecutive home runs against Jose Lima in the third at Houston to lead the Reds.

Casey finished with three runs batted in.

Elmer Dessens (3-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings, and Danny Graves pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

Colorado 7, Florida 2--Mike Hampton (6-1) hit a home run at Miami and earned his fourth consecutive victory.

The Rockies won for only the second time in eight games, stopping Florida’s four-game winning streak.