This Time, Bonds Stays in the Park

He has been booed, his heart has been questioned and his future at Chavez Ravine suddenly cast in doubt.

Chan Ho Park has had better months.

Park and the Dodgers needed something to make them smile after a rough stretch down the stretch, and they did Tuesday night in a 9-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.

But typically these days, it wasn’t easy.

Park (14-11) rebounded after giving up a game-opening homer to Marvin Benard, working 61/3 innings as he earned his first victory since Aug. 30.

The Dodgers, sparked by Shawn Green’s club-record 48th home run, broke the game open with seven runs in the sixth, and Park pitched well in his second consecutive start after a recent disastrous relief appearance in which he faced five batters and failed to record an out.

Park limited the Giants to five hits, and helped the Dodgers prevent Barry Bonds from celebrating again.

After hitting his major league-leading 67th home run in Monday’s 2-1 victory against the Dodgers, Bonds was hitless in three at-bats with two walks. He needs four homers to surpass Mark McGwire’s single-season record.

“The crowd wants him to hit a home run, the whole world does. It gets you pumped up,” said Dodger reliever Matt Herges, who got Bonds on a grounder with two out in the eighth inning and first base open. “You’d much rather say you got him out than say you intentionally walked him. I went after him and said if he still hits a home run, I still have the lead.

“This keeps our chances alive,” Dodger Manager Jim Tracy said. “We’re still in this thing.”

The Dodgers are 31/2 games behind Arizona in the National League West. They are two games behind the Giants with 10 games left.

The Dodgers had seven hits in the sixth inning, the Giants helped them with two errors, and chased starter Kirk Rueter (13-12).

Trailing, 1-0, in the sixth, the Dodgers sent 13 batters to the plate.

After Mark Grudzielanek grounded out, Green homered to left-center on a 1-and-2 count against Rueter. The left-hander was removed after walking Gary Sheffield and giving up a run-scoring double to Paul Lo Duca.

The Dodgers added insurance runs, which they would need, against relievers Brian Boehringer and Jason Christiansen.

“I wish I could take a few of those runs and spread them over the course of the last couple weeks,” Tracy said.

After both of the Dodger wins last week, they came out flat the next game.

Tracy is confident that won’t happen this time.

“The reason those other wins didn’t carry over was because while we won big games dramatically, there wasn’t a whole lot of offense,” he said. “Tonight we broke out offensively and that’s the sort of thing that carries over.”

Then it was the Giants’ turn to apply pressure again.

Park hit Pedro Feliz, who entered in the sixth as a defensive replacement, with a pitch to start the seventh.

He was chased on Rich Aurilia’s run-scoring single, cutting the lead to 7-2, and received a standing ovation.

Left-hander Jesse Orosco entered to face the left-handed batting Bonds, who catcher Chad Kreuter tagged out on a slow roller up the first-base line. Bonds is three for 22 against Orosco.

Beginning play Tuesday, the Dodgers were batting .197 (54 for 274) with only 20 runs in the eight games since play resumed after the terrorist attacks.

With that type of production, they seemingly can’t afford to waste opportunities, but did in the fifth.

Trailing, 1-0, Marquis Grissom led off with a double to left center. Rueter fielded Kreuter’s chopper between the mound and first and nailed Grissom, who would have been in scoring position with one out had he stayed put.

Park made the crowd antsy again with another shaky start.

He threw a hanging curveball to Benard on a 2-and-2 count, and Benard drilled it to straightaway center.

Grissom got his glove on the ball, but it went over the wall for Benard’s first leadoff homer of the season and ninth of his career.

The homer stirred boos, and the sight of the frustrated pitcher on the mound was not reassuring for the struggling club.

With one out, Park walked Bonds on four pitches and walked Andres Galarraga with two out to prolong his problems.

Paul Lo Duca, playing first base with Park pitching, bailed out the right-hander. He made a nifty stop on John Vander Wal’s hard grounder down the line, beating him to the bag for the final out.

Then Park settled down.

He got into a groove except when Bonds came to the plate, walking him for the second time in the third.

Park retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth, getting Bonds to ground out in the fifth to boost his confidence.