Aug 9, 2007 6:45 pm US/Pacific
Bonds Fouls Out As Key Pinch Hitter In Giants Loss
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
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Barry Bonds.
Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images
Jon Rauch retired pinch-hitter Barry Bonds in a key spot and Felipe Lopez hit a two-run homer, leading the Washington Nationals to a 3-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.
Bonds stepped to the plate with the Giants down by two and runners on first and third with one out in the eighth inning. His mere presence woke up a sleepy crowd that gave the home run king a standing ovation.
Pitching coach Randy St. Claire came out to the mound to talk to Rauch, who had never faced Bonds before. After starting Bonds with a ball, Rauch got the slugger to foul out to third base. Bonds is 0-for-5 with three walks as a pinch-hitter this season.
Rauch got out of the inning by catching Pedro Feliz straying too far off first after faking a pickoff throw to third. Chad Cordero then pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 33 chances, giving the Nationals a split of the four-game series.
After a two-out double by Omar Vizquel, Cordero retired Randy Winn on a grounder to end it.
Lopez broke a 1-all tie with his home run to left field with one out in the fifth against Pat Misch (0-2). That helped Joel Hanrahan (2-0) earn the win. He allowed one run and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record with his 756th career home run Tuesday night, then extended it with another homer Wednesday before getting some rest in the series finale. Instead of being treated to more milestones, the fans who showed up got to see a game between last-place teams.
Without their slugger in the starting lineup, the Giants bunted in three of their first nine trips to the plate _ bunt singles by Vizquel and Rajai Davis and a sacrifice by Misch. But they were unable to generate much offense against a pitcher making his third major league start and fell to 6-15 when Bonds does not start.
The bottom of the first was fitting of the last-place matchup. Four of the first five Giants batters reached safely against Hanrahan and there was also a throwing error by Lopez at shortstop. But San Francisco still couldn't manage to score and even lost a player to injury in the inning.
Dave Roberts was thrown out at home trying to score on the back end of a double-steal attempt and bruised his right knee when he slid into catcher Jesus Flores' shin guards. Feliz flied out with the bases loaded to end the threat.
The Giants scored the next inning when Davis bunted for a single, stole second and scored on Guillermo Rodriguez's RBI single. The Nationals tied it in the fourth on Ronnie Belliard's sacrifice fly.
Misch, who made his first major league start when Bonds tied Aaron's record last Saturday in San Diego, allowed Lopez's eighth home run, which gave the Nationals a 3-1 lead. Misch yielded three runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Notes: Hanrahan doubled in the fifth inning and scored on Lopez's homer, giving him a hit in each of his three major league starts. ... Washington OF Robert Fick went 0-for-2 and is hitless in his last 20 at-bats. ... Davis had a career-high three hits. ... This marked the 30th straight Giants game that was sold out at home or on the road, although many fans chose not to use their tickets. ... Giants 2B Ray Durham singled in the eighth, snapping an 0-for-21 drought.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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