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Rude welcome Schilling ineffective in return; Bonds reaches 30 HR againPosted: Saturday July 12, 2003 7:40 PMUpdated: Saturday July 12, 2003 9:12 PM
PHOENIX (AP) -- Curt Schilling's return did nothing to alter the dominance of Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Bonds tied a major league record with his 12th consecutive 30-homer season and rookie Jerome Williams allowed two hits through six innings Saturday in the Giants' 8-1 victory over Arizona. Ray Durham greeted Schilling with a home run on the second pitch of the game -- the first outing for Arizona's right-handed ace since he broke his right hand on May 30. Bonds hit a mammoth 448-foot smash over the swimming pool in right-center with one out in the fourth, his major league-leading 30th home run of the season -- matching the mark set by Jimmie Foxx from 1929-40. "His swing is special right now," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "He's getting around some fastballs that I don't remember any guys getting around at that age, and to pull them a long ways like he did that one from Schilling today." The San Francisco star has homered in five consecutive games and eight of his last nine, including a 432-foot drive off Arizona's Miguel Batista in Friday night's 10-7 victory. He has 643 homers, 17 shy of Willie Mays for No. 3 on the career list.
Bonds also had a two-run, opposite-field double as San Francisco improved to 6-1 against Arizona this season and increased its NL West lead over the second-place Diamondbacks to six games. If they win Sunday, the Giants will head into the All-Star break with a three-game sweep of their nearest challenger. After winning 18 of 21, Arizona has been outscored 32-10 while losing three in a row for the first time since May 17. "It's what happens when big league hitters get pitches to hit," Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said. "We've just made some mistakes in the strike zone and they've hit them hard." Schilling (4-4) gave up five runs, four earned, on six hits in six innings. He struck out five, walked two, hit Bonds with a pitch and allowed a run to score when he was called for runner's interference. "I'm disappointed. I didn't pitch well," Schilling said. "I felt fine. Everything felt good. I just didn't get the job done today." Williams (5-1) won his fifth straight start, one shy of the club record for a rookie. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed no earned runs, struck out seven and walked two with a baffling combination of fastballs and slow breaking pitches. He didn't give up a hit until Alex Cintron's single with no outs in the fifth. "We have a pitcher there. The Giants have a pretty good pitcher," Alou said. "Just keep him healthy, mentally and physically -- he's 21? -- maybe for the next 20 years." Williams shrugged off the fact that he was pitching against one of baseball's biggest names in front of Arizona's second-largest crowd of the season. "Every time I just go out there and pitch," he said. "Whoever is out there, whoever I'm facing, it doesn't matter to me as long as I go out there and pitch well." It was Asian Pacific Day at Bank One Ballpark, and the Hawaiian-born Williams stood on the dugout and sang along with the singers in their native language during a pregame ceremony. "Yeah, that's my heritage right there," Williams said. "When they were singing that song, I was singing every word of it because I knew it. It made me feel at home." In Bonds' first at-bat after his home run, Schilling plunked him in the right upper arm with the first pitch of the sixth inning. Jose Cruz Jr. walked, then Edgardo Alfonzo singled with one out to drive in a run. Yorvit Torrealba hit one back to the mound, and Schilling caught Cruz in a rundown between third and home. But after tossing the ball to third baseman Craig Counsell, Schilling barreled into the runner. Third base umpire Tim McClelland called interference and sent Cruz home to make it 5-1. "I just made a fundamentally bad play," Schilling said. "I should have given the ball up sooner and gotten out of the way. Those are the kind of things in a game like that in a series like this you can't do. The last two days we've been outpitched, we've been outhit and we've been outplayed." Marquis Grissom's infield single in the seventh was the 2,000th hit of his career. Bonds followed with a two-run double off Eddie Oropesa. Arizona loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth but got just one run when Counsell drew a two-out walk. Notes: Schilling was 3-1 with a 1.40 ERA in his five starts before the injury. ... Arizona optioned RHP Andrew Good to Triple-A Tucson to make room for Schilling, who came off the disabled list. ... Williams has allowed two runs in his last four starts, two of them complete games. ... Giants first baseman J.T. Snow committed his second error in two games. He has three this season, all against Arizona. ... Bonds has 13 30-homer seasons overall. Only Hank Aaron has more with 15.
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