586 served

Bonds ties Robinson for fourth place on career homer list

Barry Bonds' 19th homer of the season was a 430-foot solo shot in the seventh inning. AP

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds is honored his name is right up there on the career home run list with Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Frank Robinson. But what matters now, he said, is wins.

Bonds hit his 586th home run to tie Robinson for fourth place on the career list, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 9-2 Sunday night to snap a four-game losing streak.

"This victory means more to us right now," Bonds said. "Every team goes through a spell where they're not hitting the ball. Today we came together."

Bonds hit a high-arching solo shot, driving a 3-2 pitch from Brian Fuentes into the right-center bleachers in the seventh inning for his 19th homer of the season, matching Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa for the major league lead.

Benito Santiago added a three-run homer, and Jason Schmidt (1-1) pitched seven strong innings for the Giants, who beat the Rockies for the first time in six tries this season.

Route 586 Barry Bonds and Frank Robinson took different paths to home run No.  586:      Bonds     Robinson   Games  2,347  2,808 At-Bats  8,041 10,006 AB per HR  13.7  17.1 Grand Slams   10    7 Slugging Pct. .589  .537  Multihomer Games   59   54 Pitchers Victimized  358  275 • Click here for a breakdown of the 500-HR Club.

"I'm just trying to play to win. Right now, were in a little down spell," Bonds said. "Hopefully we'll pick it up."

The Rockies, who won the first two games of the weekend series, have never swept the Giants in San Francisco. Colorado lost for just the third time in 13 games.

With one out in the first inning, David Bell and Bonds singled. Bell scored on Jeff Kent's double before Santiago's shot off John Thomson (6-4) into the left-field bleachers.

Kent scored Bell with a double in the third to make it 5-0. Schmidt doubled in the fourth and scored on Reggie Sanders' single.

Schmidt allowed one run on five hits. He struck out nine.

Fuentes said he left a fastball against Bonds "a little up."

"I got too much of the plate and he drove it," he said.

Bonds had not homered since Monday, a span of 15 at-bats, but he has still gone deep seven times in his last 19 games.

The reigning NL MVP hit a single-season record 73 home runs last season. With one more to go to surpass Robinson, Bonds' next target on the career list is godfather Mays, who has 660 homers. Ruth hit 714 and Aaron holds the career record with 755.

"I really appreciate what they've done for the game and I'm honored to be in the same class," Bonds said.

Damon Minor, starting at first base in place of an ailing J.T. Snow, doubled in the fifth inning to score Bonds. Tsuyoshi Shinjo added an RBI grounder.

Thomson allowed a season-high eight runs on 10 hits over 4 1-3 innings. He walked one and struck out three.

The Rockies finally scored in the sixth. Larry Walker, back in the lineup after missing two games with a sore elbow, walked and scored on Todd Helton's double.

Notes: Snow was out of San Francisco's lineup for the second game because of the flu and an allergic reaction to medication. ... The Giants have not lost more than four in a row since an eight-game losing streak May 12-20, 2000. ... The Giants are winless in their last four series. ... San Francisco SS Ramon Martinez remained out of the lineup after suffering a concussion in Friday night's game. He planned to make the trip to San Diego for the Giants' series against the Padres, which begins Monday, but it was not known when he would return to the lineup.

 

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