Barry Bonds hit his 733rd homer, tying Hank Aaron's NL record, and drove in a season-high six runs but the Milwaukee Brewers outslugged the slumping San Francisco Giants 13-12 Friday night.
David Bell's infield single in the eighth inning drove in the go-ahead run for Milwaukee, which rallied from deficits of 4-0 and 12-10.
Bonds' three-run homer in the sixth off reliever Chris Spurling was his 25th of the season. The slugger is 22 homers from Aaron's career record of 755.
With runners on first and third, the 42-year-old Bonds hit a 2-0 pitch that just cleared the wall in centre field to give the Giants an 11-10 lead.
The loss was the seventh in nine games for the Giants, whose post-season hopes are fading quickly.
Both teams sent nine players to the plate in the first inning, the first time this season that has happened in the major leagues. The last time it happened was May 11, 2005, when Seattle and the New York Yankees accomplished the feat.
With the Brewers trailing 12-10, Tony Gwynn led off the eighth with a single and Corey Hart followed with a double. Gwynn scored on Prince Fielder's groundout, and Bill Hall knocked in Hart with a two-out single.
Geoff Jenkins walked and Hall went to third on a wild pitch. Vinnie Chulk (0-3) then walked Cirillo, loading the bases. Bell hit a grounder to shortstop Omar Vizquel, but Cirillo beat his throw to second and Hall scored to give the Brewers a 13-12 lead.
Jose Capellan (3-2) got the win and Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 14 chances.
Bonds added two doubles, giving him 586 to move past Rafael Palmeiro into 14th place on the career list.
Bonds' six RBIs tied the Giants' season high. Pedro Feliz also had six RBIs on June 15 at Arizona. It was the sixth time in Bonds' 20-year career he's had six RBIs in a game. The last time was Aug. 29, 2004, at Atlanta. His career high is seven RBIs, accomplished Oct. 1, 1993, at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ray Durham hit his 25th home run in the eighth to increase the Giants' lead to 12-10.
Jonathan Sanchez pitched just two-plus innings for the Giants, giving up eight runs and eight hits.
Rookie catcher Mike Rivera had a career-high three hits and drove in three runs, and Kevin Mench added three hits and three RBIs for the Brewers. Doug Davis pitched five innings, giving up seven runs and nine hits.
Notes: Giants pitcher Jamey Wright was suspended three games for throwing at Colorado's Matt Holliday on Tuesday. San Francisco manager Felipe Alou was suspended for one game because a warning had been issued. ... Davis' first-inning walk to Durham was his first in his last four outings.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
