National League
Barry Bonds made quite a splash with his latest home run into McCovey Cove.
He matched his godfather Willie Mays and moved into third place on the career home run list with No. 660, a three-run shot that helped the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-5 on Monday.
"It was like a weight was just lifted off my shoulders," Bonds said. "I felt a sense of accomplishment in baseball. It's a relief now to be able to stand next to my godfather and finally feel like I've accomplished something in the game of baseball. It was a big way of getting his approval that I've finally done something."
PHOTO: REUTERS
Bonds connected in the fifth inning on a 3-1 pitch from Matt Kinney (0-1) for his second homer of the season. The estimated 442-foot blast put the Giants ahead 5-4. It was the 28th time Bonds has homered into the water.
Mays, who turns 73 next month, hurried on to the field to congratulate Bonds, giving his godson a hug and a kiss outside the dugout.
The sellout crowd of 42,548 cheered, "Barry! Barry!" and gave him a standing ovation. They seemed to forget about the steroid controversy surrounding their star slugger and his personal trainer.
PHOTO: AFP
"I think this is probably the icing on the cake," Bonds said. "I really wish my dad could have been here to be part of it ... I just really can't believe it, being 4 years old when my dad came up into the major leagues and having an idol like Willie Mays take me under his wing, and now being up in front of all of you people answering questions what it's like to tie the man you respected and honored your entire life."
Mays has been a mentor to Bonds since the slugger's father, Bobby, died last August.
Hank Aaron leads the career list with 755 home runs, followed by Babe Ruth with 714.
Pirates 13, Cubs 2
At Chicago, Kris Benson allowed one hit in six superb innings, outpitching a wild and ineffective Greg Maddux in the Cubs' first game at Wrigley Field since losing last year's NL championship series.
Maddux (0-2) left the Cubs in 1992 after winning the first of four straight Cy Young Awards, signing with the Atlanta Braves. He lasted only 3 2-3 innings, giving up five walks, eight hits and six runs.
Benson (1-0) gave up a first-inning infield single and two unearned runs.
Reds 4, Phillies 1
At Philadelphia, Reds starter Paul Wilson allowed just one run over 7 1-3 innings in the first game at Citizens Bank Park.
D'Angelo Jimenez got the first hit, a ground-rule double down the right-field line on the fourth pitch of the game from Randy Wolf (0-1).
Bobby Abreu hit the first home run at the new park for the Phillies, off to a 1-6 start.
Mets 10, Braves 6
At New York, newcomers Kaz Matsui and Mike Cameron each drove in two runs, and Steve Trachsel was terrific on the mound and at the plate in the Mets' victory.
Todd Zeile added three hits as a makeshift lineup roughed up Mike Hampton (0-1) in building a 10-0 lead.
New York played without Cliff Floyd, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right quadriceps, and Mike Piazza, out of the lineup because of a sore right elbow.
Trachsel (1-1) allowed one run and four hits in six innings, and also drove in two runs.
Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 4
At Denver, the Rockies rallied for four runs in the seventh inning, capitalizing on the wildness of Arizona's relievers.
The Rockies erased a 3-0 deficit and had just one hit in their winning rally. Colorado loaded the bases with a single and two walks off Mike Koplove (0-1), then Koplove walked in a run. Jose Valverde relieved and hit a batter and threw two wild pitches -- all allowed runs to score.
Vladimir Nunez (1-0) got two outs in relief, and Shawn Chacon pitched the ninth for his second save.
Astros 10, Cardinals 5
At St. Louis, Richard Hidalgo hit a three-run home run and broke an eighth-inning tie with a sacrifice fly to lead Houston to a win.
Craig Biggio had three doubles, three RBIs and scored three times for the Astros. Ricky Stone (1-0) pitched one scoreless inning to get the win.
Mike Lincoln (2-1) allowed five runs in 1 1-3 innings of relief for St. Louis.
American League
Travis Hafner hit a grand slam, Cliff Lee went six innings and David Riske finally closed one out as the Cleveland Indians won their home opener 6-3 over the Minnesota Twins.
"We finally pulled one out," outfielder Coco Crisp said Monday. "We got the lead and kept it."
Hafner gave Cleveland fans the kind of moment they've gotten used to while watching the Indians bludgeon the AL Central for most of the past decade.
Hafner connected in the third inning off Kyle Lohse (0-2) and Matt Lawton added a solo shot in the seventh for Cleveland, which stopped a three-game losing streak.
"It's the kind of thing you dream about as a kid," Hafner said. "That's one of the highlights of my career."
The Indians went 2-5 -- three were extra-inning losses -- on a season-opening road trip they could blame squarely on their bullpen's inability to finish games.
But Lee (1-0), who allowed five hits in six innings and induced three double plays, handed over a 5-2 lead that Cleveland's relievers finally protected.
Jack Cressend worked a one-hit seventh and Rafael Betancourt a 1-2-3 eighth before Riske, who has twice given up ninth-inning leads, let the Twins pull within 6-3.
Cleveland's fans then booed Riske, who decided enough was enough.
Rangers 7, Angels 6
In Arlington, Texas, pinch-hitter Brad Fullmer burned his former team with a three-run double that capped a five-run sixth inning for the Rangers.
Hank Blalock was 3-for-5 with a go-ahead two-run single, and finished the four-game series with 10 hits.
After Ben Webber replaced Jarrod Washburn (1-1) with two on and one out in the sixth, Michael Young reached on an infield single.
Blalock then singled for a 4-3 lead, and Fullmer, who played for the World Series champions in Anaheim two years ago, later doubled to clear the bases.
Carlos Almanzar (1-0) pitched a perfect sixth and Francisco Cordero allowed two runs in the ninth, but managed to get his second save.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
Shuttler Lin Chun-yi yesterday kept Taiwan on the board as they faced their first major challenge of the group stage after marching into the last eight at the Sudirman Cup Finals in Xiamen, China. Taiwan were losing 3-1 to South Korea as of press time last night, with only the men’s doubles match remaining. Taiwan and four-time champions South Korea have already progressed to the quarter-finals, after Taiwan on Monday blanked the Czech Republic 5-0 without giving up a single game. Before last night’s tie, Taiwan were undefeated in Group B, with a 9-1 match record, ahead of South Korea, who, although also
A man fell from the 6.4m-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park in Pittsburgh during Wednesday night’s game between the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel and pointing to the man, who had fallen onto the warning track. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed from the field on a cart. The team issued a statement shortly
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