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One-pitch wonder Bonds gets what he's waited for -- a pitch and No. 70
HOUSTON -- No. 70 lit out like the proverbial bat out of a Houston summer, screaming its seamy head off as it made its no-doubt-about-it flight toward the second deck deep in right-center field. The man who sent it on its way had no such speedy inclinations. Barry Bonds watched his homer, as only Barry Bonds can, while it arced toward history Thursday night. A beat. Two beats. The collective gasp of the crowd held, just for an instant, then let loose. A big grin spread across Bonds' face, both arms thrust toward the roof at Houston's Enron Field and he started his now-familiar run around the bases, dropping one arm until his right fist pumped the air alone. His son, Nikolai , greeted him with open arms at home plate. And, yes, his San Francisco Giants teammates poured out of the dugout and the bullpen to slam him, too, a painful contrast to the cold-shoulder reception the sometimes aloof Bonds received when he hit his 500th career home run earlier this season. "I think," Bonds said smiling, "some of them got some cheap shots in on my rib cages." And that's how Bonds, maybe the greatest player of his generation, did it. That's how he tied the single-season record for home runs. That's what he did once he finally -- finally! -- got a pitch he could clobber. "You knew he was going to get it," Giants manager Dusty Baker said, "sooner or later." Ahhh, but that was the beauty of this particular home run. Not everyone knew it was coming. Not after these final three games with the Astros. Not after 19 plate appearances that featured a mind-numbing 10 wet-blanket walks. Bonds was hit by a pitch twice, too. In the top of the ninth Thursday, though, with Houston down 9-2, the Astros finally relented. Three innings earlier, down 8-1, they had infuriated the home crowd -- and many Giants -- by intentionally walking Bonds. "I thought that, when it was 8-1, that [walk] was like a slap in the face of baseball," said the Giants' J.T. Snow. When Bonds came up in the ninth, though, the Astros sacrificed a lefty named Wilfredo Rodriguez -- a 22-year-old pitching in only his second game -- and told him to go after Bonds. The first pitch was a blazing high fastball that Bonds whiffed through. "When he threw that first one, I just was 'Wow,'" Bonds said. Rodriguez's second pitch was a high-and-tight heater that Bonds let slip by. And then he connected on a 1-1 fastball down the middle, sending it 454 feet into the second deck and into the mitt of a soon-to-be wealthy Houston real estate agent. "That's a bunch of history right there," said Giants shortstop Rich Aurilia. The hit equals Mark McGwire's record for the most homers in a season, a mark that seemed so preposterous when he set it just three short years ago. No. 70 was a huge milestone for Bonds to reach, especially considering his last three games here. But it is not his last. Bonds has three more games -- Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday afternoons -- to try to break McGwire's record. Three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park. The question is not so much whether Bonds will break the record but, more specifically, whether the Dodgers will allow it. Will the Dodgers pitch to Bonds? There are all sorts of factors pointing his way. He has been incredibly hot all season long. Pac Bell is his park. The Dodgers are out of the playoffs and have nothing but a little pride to lose in going after Bonds. Really, why wouldn't they pitch to him? "Because they're the Dodgers," Snow said, "and we're the Giants." Still, the biggest pitch has been punched into the stands. Bonds shares the home run record in what probably is the best offensive season ever. With 70 homers, 134 RBIs, a record 175 walks and a batting average of .323, Bonds' slugging percentage now sits at .848, the highest single-season mark in history. No. 71 would be the final touch. The weekend awaits. John Donovan is a senior writer for CNNSI.com. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer. Comments? To e-mail Donovan, click here.
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