Bonds Gets a Break, but Marlins Win, 7-3

Barry Bonds’ latest home run wasn’t as memorable as the one before, but it was the hot topic after the Florida Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-3, Saturday night at Pro Player Stadium in Miami. The broken-bat shot was his first home run since becoming the fourth player to reach the 600-homer milestone Aug. 9.

He slowly jogged to first with the handle as he watched No. 601 barely clear the fence in the first inning. He dropped the handle at first, stared at the barrel that landed near the bag and then smiled widely as he began his home-run trot.

It was his 34th homer of the season but may have been his most improbable ever.

“I don’t think anyone has [homered] with a bat that exploded,” Bonds said.

He also walked three times, moving past Joe Morgan and into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time list with 1,867. Ted Williams is third with 2,019 walks.

The Marlins have walked Bonds six times in two games, continuing to pitch around him. Even on the home run, rookie right-hander Josh Beckett threw his 2-0 fastball down and away--exactly where he wanted it.

“It was the only well-located pitch I threw him all night. It must have looked like a beach ball to him,” Beckett said.

“We wanted it down, we got it down but he got it out,” Marlin Manager Jeff Torborg said. “He’s scary strong, he really is. A lot of hitting coaches talk about getting extension, but that’s ridiculous. The head of the bat went almost as far as the ball. The more you think about it, the more amazing it is.”

St. Louis 5, Philadelphia 1--Scott Rolen, playing his second game in Philadelphia since being traded to the Cardinals on July 29, was greeted by boos from the Veterans Stadium crowd of 20,242 each time he came to the plate. But he responded with a two-run double to help end the Phillies’ five-game winning streak.

Houston 6, Cincinnati 1--Jose Vizcaino went five for five, including a leadoff home run and a go-ahead single in the ninth inning at Cincinnati.

The Astros’ late burst gave the win to Roy Oswalt (15-6), who won his fifth consecutive start.

After Vizcaino homered in the first off newly acquired Shawn Estes, Cincinnati got a run in the second when Barry Larkin grounded into a double play. It stayed 1-1 through eight innings.

San Diego 6, Montreal 5--Pinch-hitter Gene Kingsale’s two-run double capped a four-run eighth inning at Montreal and the Padres set a major league record for pitchers used in a season.

Reliever Jonathan Johnson (1-0), whose contract was purchased from triple-A Portland earlier in the day, became the 33rd pitcher to appear in a game for San Diego this season. The Padres broke Cleveland’s record of 32 pitchers in the 2000 season.

Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 0--Jack Wilson hit a three-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to help Brian Meadows win for the first time in more than a year as the Pirates ended a seven-game losing streak. Meadows (1-3) gave up four hits in six innings to win for the first time since May 10, 2001, when he beat Cleveland while he was with Kansas City.

Colorado 10, Atlanta 3--Todd Zeile capped the Rockies’ five-run first inning with his first homer in seven weeks. Jay Payton, who had a two-run double in the big first inning at Turner Field, added a solo homer in the third, his first with Colorado since being acquired in a trade from the Mets on July 31.