Bonds’ Throw Stops Brewers

Barry Bonds beat the Milwaukee Brewers not with a mighty swing -- although he had plenty of opportunities, for a change -- but with his arm.

The San Francisco slugger, who will have to wait at least another day to join the 700-homer club, flashed the kind of play that made him an eight-time Gold Glove winner early in his career, helping the Giants beat the Brewers, 3-2, Tuesday night at Milwaukee.

Bonds was hitless in two at-bats and drew two walks, one of them intentional. He kept the Giants ahead in the sixth when he fielded Brady Clark’s single to left and threw out Bill Hall, who was trying to score from second, on a one-hopper to the plate.

“That’s why he’s the greatest player of all time,” Brewer third base coach Rich Donnelly said. “He’s not just a great home run hitter.”

Houston 7, St. Louis 5 -- Roger Clemens won his 327th game with seven strong innings, and the Astros kept pace in the wild-card race at St. Louis.

Clemens (17-4) passed Eddie Plank and moved into a tie with John Clarkson (1882 to 1894) for 10th on the career list, while improving to 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in four starts against the Cardinals this year.

Cincinnati 7, Philadelphia 6 -- Felipe Lopez hit a tiebreaking two-run triple in the sixth inning, and the Reds held on to win at Cincinnati.

With two out in the sixth and the score tied, 5-5, Lopez lofted a drive off reliever Ryan Madson (9-3) that one-hopped the wall in left-center field, scoring Jacob Cruz and Ryan Freel.

Florida 8, Montreal 6 -- The Marlins homered three times in a six-run third inning, and Jeff Conine drove in the winning run with a walk at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.

With Hurricane Ivan bearing down on Florida, Major League Baseball decided last week to move the first two games of the Marlins’ series with the Expos from Miami to Chicago.

Chicago 3, Pittsburgh 2 -- Corey Patterson hit a tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning and a game-winning shot in the 12th at Chicago.

New York 7, Atlanta 0 -- Kris Benson pitched a four-hitter at New York for his second career shutout and first complete game in more than four years.

Arizona 4, Colorado 3 -- Shea Hillenbrand hit a run-scoring single in the 13th inning at Phoenix.