PITTSBURGH -- A Pittsburgh sportswriter who has known Barry Bonds since he broke into the Major Leagues with the Pirates asked the left fielder, with just a hint of impertinence, when he would begin to hit proficiently.
Bonds had a quick reply.
"When the [temperature] gets above 70," he said. "It's too cold and I'm too old."
It certainly was cold Friday night at PNC Park, where the gametime temperature was 49 degrees and plummeting. But Bonds looked anything but old, and he obviously didn't care about the thermometer. Bonds homered twice against the Pirates, hiking his career total to 737, to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 8-5 victory.
Bonds, who went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, trails Hank Aaron by 18 on the all-time home run list. The 42-year-old left fielder, who left the game after his second homer, recorded his 70th multiple-homer game, two short of Babe Ruth's record 72. Bonds' last multi-homer game was Aug. 29, 2006 at Atlanta.
Bonds' production had remained in a deep freeze. He entered the game batting .192 with one homer and four RBI. Tuesday, manager Bruce Bochy moved him from third in the batting order to cleanup, reflecting the Giants' overall offensive woes more than Bonds' personal struggles. But it was plain that extremely little was going right for Bonds or the Giants.
For one night, at least, everything turned around. The Giants, who ranked last in the National League in scoring, home runs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, scored seven runs in the first two innings off Pirates left-hander Zach Duke, more than they had amassed in any of their previous nine games. And Bonds was one of the catalysts, drilling a first-inning RBI single before adding his first homer of the evening in the second inning.
"When he starts hitting, it brings everyone's games up a little bit," said Giants starter Russ Ortiz, who ended a personal 12-decision losing streak while coming one out short of a complete game.
Each of Bonds' productive at-bats carried historical connotations, significant or otherwise.
Delivering his run-scoring single in his first career at-bat against Duke, Bonds chalked up total base No. 5,794, breaking a tie with Ruth for fifth all-time.
With one out in the second inning and Rich Aurilia on first base, Bonds lined Duke's 1-1 pitch into the right-field seats. Duke became the 436th different pitcher to allow a Bonds home run.
With two outs in the fourth, Bonds drove Shawn Chacon's 1-1 delivery over the right-center-field barrier. It was Bonds' third lifetime home run off Chacon and seventh at PNC Park. Until Friday, Bonds' only other home run this season came April 4 against San Diego at San Francisco's AT&T Park.
Pirates manager Jim Tracy admired Bonds' handiwork.
"The thing that's amazing is that he hit two completely different pitches," Tracy said. "You had the one from Zach that was a slider down and in. The second one was a fastball up and away from [Chacin] and he crushed them both."
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BONDSWATCH - 13th April 2007
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Originally Posted by tacomax
