Washington – Barry Bonds saw the paper asterisks fans waved at him. He heard the boos and insults. And when Bonds rounded the bases after hitting an upper-deck homer in his 2005 road debut, he stepped on home plate, pointed to the sky with two fingers as he always does, then put a finger over his lips as if to say, “Shhhhhh!”
On a night filled with subplots and drama befitting a September game between clubs clinging to faint playoff hopes, Bonds hit his 706th homer, then drew a walk before Moises Alou’s go-ahead, three-run shot in the ninth inning of the San Francisco Giants’ 4-3 comeback victory over the Washington Nationals.
Bonds’ homer was his third in 18 at-bats since returning to the Giants last week after missing most of the season recovering from three knee operations – and being the subject of constant speculation about steroid use.
When Bonds sent a 1-2 pitch from Livan Hernandez (15-8) into the seventh row of section 468 for one of the longest shots this season at RFK Stadium, most of the crowd of 32,403 rose to watch the flight. There was a lot of applause and throaty yells of approval, plus plenty of flashbulbs popping.
“It’s amazing to see,” said Jack Taschner (2-0), who pitched a scoreless eighth. “Barry comes up, they boo, then Barry hits a home run and they all start cheering. It’s amazing.”
Astros 7, Pirates 4
Pittsburgh – Andy Pettitte (17-9) made his shortest start in 2 1/2 months but still won his seventh in a row and kept Houston in the wild-card lead with its sixth victory in seven games.
Mets 3, Marlins 2, (12)
New York – Mike Jacobs delivered a two- out single in the 12th inning, driving in David Wright with the winning run.
Braves 4, Phillies 1
Atlanta – Jorge Sosa (13-3) overcame a career-high six walks to pitch 6 2/3 shutout innings and push Atlanta closer to its 14th straight division title.
Reds 6, Cardinals 5
Cincinnati – Rich Aurilia drove in three runs with a homer and a single, and Javier Valentin singled home the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning.
Brewers 5, Cubs 3
Milwaukee – Geoff Jenkins homered in the first inning and Doug Davis (11-10) worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh.
Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 1
Phoenix – Javier Vazquez (11-15) allowed four hits through 7 2/3 innings, and Arizona clinched its season series against Los Angeles.
