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Bonds fails to homer in Giants' win

Jul 29, 2007 - 7:35 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- San Francisco Giants fans will have to wait at least one more day to watch Barry Bonds make history, but at least they got to watch their team earn a dramatic victory.

Bonds failed to homer in four plate appearances, but Ray Durham picked him up with a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Giants to a 4-3 victory over the Florida Marlins on Saturday.

Mark Sweeney's pinch-hit double off Marlins closer Kevin Gregg tied the game in the ninth for San Francisco, which has now won four straight games. The Giants trailed, 6-2, on Friday before rallying for a wild 12-10 win.

Bonds remains stuck at 754 career home runs, one shy of tying Hank Aaron's all-time record.

Gregg (0-4) walked Dave Roberts leading off the bottom of the ninth before yielding Sweeney's double. With the score tied at 3-3, Gregg walked Randy Winn to put runners on first and second. Veteran Omar Vizquel moved the runners along with a sacrifice bunt before Durham's drive to right field got over the head of former Giant Todd Linden for the game-winner.

"You try and do it early but better late than never," Durham said. "You know they're not going to (let) him (Bonds) beat you. So it was up to me, so even if I popped out or whatever I still felt that they were going to walk him and pitch to Pedro (Feliz) behind him. Overall, that's probably their goal and not let Barry beat you."

When asked whether walking Durham to get to Bonds, who at that point had yet to get a ball out of the infield, was met with a blank stare by Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez.

Catcher Matt Treanor gave an audible response.

"I've heard that question a lot," Treanor said. "What are you going to do? Walk him (Durham) to get to Barry?"

Dontrelle Willis got the start for the Marlins and dominated San Francisco's hitters through seven innings, allowing two runs - one earned - and seven hits while striking out two and walking three. The 25-year-old lefthander was in line to earn his first win since May 29 at Chicago - a span of 10 starts.

He had been 0-7 over that stretch with a 5.61 ERA and a .333 batting average against. Lack of command was a big issue, as Willis issued 26 walks and allowed 100 baserunners in 51 1/3 innings.

Willis, who has been the subject of trade rumors as the Tuesday deadline approaches, likely impressed opposing scouts in his last inning, forcing Bonds to foul out to the catcher with runners on first and second to end a threat.

"My effort is out there, I play hard," Willis said. "That's all you can ask from an individual. I'm definitely disappointed that again we played hard and came up short."

"Dontrelle threw the ball great," Gonzalez said. "He got through some tough innings there, made some great pitches there. It was very nice to see. He challenged him (Bonds), made some great pitches to him. Again, the overall outing was very good."

Willis struck out Bonds in the first inning for his 700th career strikeout. Although Willis joked the milestone was not as impressive as 700 home runs and joked with reporters about having Bonds sign the ball, he relished the opportunity to face a player he idolized growing up in the Bay Area.

"You just have to stay focused," Willis said. "Everybody else can feel the excitement. I try to stay poised. I wish him all the best. Hopefully he does it after we leave. He's a great individual and I'm proud to say I competed against him. I respect him as a competitor."

Miguel Cabrera got Florida on the board in the third when he got to Giants starter Matt Cain for a two-run homer. The blast was his 24th of the season and gave Florida a 2-1 advantage.

Jeremy Hermida tacked on an insurance run three batters later when he singled home Josh Willingham, who had clubbed a two-out double.

Cain, who ranks among the league leaders in lowest run support in the National league, avoided his 10th loss in 11 decisions. San Francisco has scored a total of 15 runs in Cain's last nine losses, an average of just 1.5 per start.

"I thought he was a little bit quick early in the game, but he settled down," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. "This is an outing I know he should feel good about, gave the club a chance to win."

The 23-year-old righthander yielded three runs and six hits in seven innings, striking out seven and issuing a pair of walks.

Bochy was noncommittal about whether Bonds would be in the lineup for Sunday's game as the slugger typically sits out of day games following a night game.

"If he feels good, he'll play tomorrow," Bochy said. "If he feels anything, then I'll shut him down. That's the way it's gonna be. I'm sure he'd like to play tomorrow he'd like to play all the time but we can't wear him down trying to chase this thing."

Bonds did not voice his opinion on the matter since he will not address the media postgame unless he hits a home run.

San Francisco's current four-game winning streak is the longest for the team since May 20-23.