Bonds Hits No. 707; Giants Beat Nationals

The pitch to Barry Bonds was right where John Patterson wanted it, a cut fastball that dipped inside. And then, in a blink, Bonds whipped his bat, driving the ball over the right-field wall. The two-run shot, his 707th homer and fourth in four games, came in the first inning Wednesday night at Washington and started the San Francisco Giants on their way to a 5-1 victory over the Nationals.

“I don’t know how he hit it. We were all talking about it after we came into the dugout,” Patterson said. “It’s like fighting Ali. You make one little mistake, and he makes you pay. You realize, at some point, Barry’s going to get you.”

With Bonds back in the lineup, the Giants have won five straight games to cling to an outside chance of catching West-leading San Diego.

The Nationals lost their fourth in a row.

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San Diego 5, Colorado 2 -- Jake Peavy pitched into the eighth inning and Dave Roberts drove in two runs with two triples at Denver as the Padres maintained their five-game lead in the West.

Peavy (13-7) struck out four, walked three and gave up two runs and seven hits in winning for the first time in three starts. Trevor Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth for his 37th consecutive save and 40th of the season.

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New York 5, Florida 4 -- The Marlins’ slender wild-card hopes were jolted when Miguel Cairo drove in Jose Reyes in the bottom of the ninth to give the Mets the victory.

Florida also lost slugger Miguel Cabrera, who was forced to leave the game in the first inning after fouling a ball off his left knee.

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Philadelphia 10, Atlanta 6 -- Ryan Howard hit a grand slam in the 10th inning at Atlanta and the Phillies boosted their faltering playoff hopes.

Jimmy Rollins drove in two runs and extended his hitting streak to 26 games as the Phillies pulled within five games of the Braves in the East. The Phillies’ best hope for reaching the playoffs is the wild card. They are two games behind Houston.

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Houston 12, Pittsburgh 8 -- Lance Berkman hit his 20th homer and drove in five runs for the Astros at Pittsburgh. Berkman hit a three-run homer in a four-run first inning and Mike Lamb hit a three-run homer in a four-run second.

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Milwaukee 7, Chicago 6 -- Pinch-hitter Jeff Cirillo singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning at Milwaukee.

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St. Louis 5, Cincinnati 1 -- Jason Marquis pitched seven solid innings, and homers by David Eckstein and So Taguchi at Cincinnati powered the Cardinals to their 96th victory.