Bonds hits homers No. 590 and 591; Giants edge Padres

Posted 7:59AM on Tuesday 25th June 2002 ( 22 years ago )

SAN DIEGO - Barry Bonds was back in one of his favorite home run parks, so naturally, he went deep. Twice. Bonds tied the game with a three-run homer in the seventh, then won it in the ninth with a solo shot off closer Trevor Hoffman as the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 7-6 Monday night. With one out in the ninth, Bonds drove the first pitch he saw from Hoffman (1-1) down the right field line, curling just inside the foul pole. It went an estimated 378 feet. Bonds has 24 homers this season and 591 in his career. It was the first homer allowed by Hoffman in 28 innings over 28 appearances. Bonds has 68 career homers against the Padres, his most against any team, and 36 in San Diego, his most in any road ballpark. Bonds refused to speak with reporters afterward. "He hit a good pitch on the inside off Trevor," manager Dusty Baker said. "They know each other pretty good. They've been facing each other for years. That's a real cat-and-mouse game between those two. Trevor's a star and Barry's a star. Tonight, Barry won. "No matter what happens, you're not going to keep a good guy down too long," Baker said. Winner Tim Worrell (4-0) watched a replay of Bonds' homer. "I don't know what you do right there," Worrell said. "That ball looked like it was at his hip. He turns on it and hits it out of the park and keeps it fair. Not many lefties can keep that fair." Since Bonds didn't see many first-strike pitches all night, Hoffman said he tried to sneak a fastball past him. Hoffman shook off catcher Tom Lampkin "and I got bit." Hoffman added: "The pitch I threw is a pitch that's going to make your manager and pitching coach cranky. It was a pitch that was good enough to hit out of the ballpark, so it was a pitch that shouldn't have been thrown." They were Bonds' first homers since June 12, a span of just eight games. Bonds walked twice Monday, the first intentionally. He leads the majors with 91 walks, well ahead of the pace to break the record of 177 he set last year, when he also broke the single-season home run record with 73. "He was getting some balls to hit, occasionally; most of the time they were running from him," Baker said. "I've never seen anything like what he did tonight," said reliever Jeremy Fikac, who served up Bonds' three-run homer. "I don't know if he's human right now." Bonds is fourth on the all-time list, 69 behind his godfather, Willie Mays. It was his 60th career multihomer game. With one out in the seventh and runners on first and second, Bonds fell behind 0-2 against Fikac, who then missed on three straight pitches. Bonds hit a full-count fastball over the fence in left-center to score Marvin Benard, aboard on a pinch-hit leadoff single, and Reggie Sanders, aboard on a walk. In his last game in San Diego, Bonds hit a grand slam off the base of the scoreboard that sits 29 rows beyond the right-field wall. Tim Worrell (4-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the win. Robb Nen pitched the ninth for his 19th save in 22 chances. San Francisco's David Bell had a two-run homer and a RBI single in the second. The normally power-poor Padres had taken a 6-3 lead on two homers by Ray Lankford and one by Lampkin. Coming into the game, Padres regulars had just 23 homers, and it was only the third game this year the Padres had more than two homers. They continue to be without their 3-4 hitters. Ryan Klesko missed his fourth straight start with a strained right wrist and forearm, and Phil Nevin is out with a broken left arm until at least July 12. Lankford, who had struck out 10 times in his previous 12 at-bats, hit a two-run homer with two outs in the fourth to give the Padres a 2-1 lead, and a solo homer with two outs in the sixth to make it 5-3. Lampkin followed with a solo homer in the sixth. It was the third time this season the Padres hit consecutive homers and the first since Nevin and Klesko did it May 8 at Florida. Notes: It was Lankford's 18th career multihomer game and first since April 4, 2001, while with St. Louis. ... After drawing three straight crowds of more than 50,000 in a weekend series against the New York Yankees, the Padres drew just 17,475 Monday night. ... This four-game series originally was to be played in San Francisco, but when the NFL's Chargers were scheduled to play their home opener on Sept. 15, it forced the Padres to trade two home dates with the Giants. So the teams play in San Diego Monday and Tuesday, then fly to San Francisco for games Wednesday and Thursday. They'll follow the same drill in September, playing in San Diego on the 12th and 13th and in San Francisco on the 14th and 15th.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/6/193195