Now it's time for the third game of the series between the Giants and the Pirates from Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, May 5. In real life, the Bucs prevailed 4-3 in twelve innings thanks to a single by third baseman Ed Sprague. Will Barry's presence help to turn the tide? He'll be batting fifth and playing left field, as his replacement Stan Javier did in real life:
The Giants scored twice in the top of the first against Pirates starting pitcher Pete Schourek. F.P. Santangelo, starting in center field, drew a one-out walk, After Charlie Hayes flew to the warning track in center for the second out, Jeff Kent and Bonds drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Rich Aurilia was next, and his base hit to left center scored Santangelo and Kent to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. Bonds moved to third on the hit, but was stranded when J.T. Snow grounded to Pat Meares at short to end the inning.
After losing the lead in the bottom of the first (more on that shortly), the Giants reclaimed it in the top of the second. With one out, starting pitcher Shawn Estes lined a single to left, Marvin Benard, starting in right field tonight, also singled to left to put two men on. After Santangelo struck out swinging for out number two, Hayes doubled over Adrian Brown's head in center to score both Estes and Benard and put the visitors back in front 4-3. Kent walked to put two men back on, but Bonds' fly to right center was caught by Brown to retire the side,
Bonds came up for the third time with two on and two out in the fourth against reliever Jeff Wallace and grounded to first to end the inning.
His fourth at-bat of the night came against an exhausted Wallace with one out in the top of the seventh and the G-Men trailing 6-4. He took a ball, then swatted Wallace's second pitch high over the left field wall for his thirty-eighth home run of the year and Number 783 for his career. The Giants now trailed 6-5.
After tying the game in the eighth (more on that shortly), the visitors took the lead for good in the top of the ninth against new Pirates pitcher Marc Wilkins, Kent led off with a single to left. After Bonds' fly ball was caught in shallow left center for out number one, Aurilia slapped a base hit to right center. Kent was barely safe at third, but the Giants still had runners at the corners for Snow, who lined Wilkins' 1-1 curveball into the seats in left center field for what turned out to be a game-winning three-run homer, his twenty-sixth of the year.
Bonds finished one for four plus a walk, He's now batting .263 with thirty-eight home runs and ninety-one runs batted in, and has walked eighty-one times. He's tied with the Diamondbacks' Jay Bell for ninth place on the National League home run list. For his career, he's now seventeen homers shy of eight hundred and eighty-five behind Oh.
Now for the rest of the game action:
The Buccos took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the first. Meares singled to left with one out. Right fielder Turner Ward singled to put two men on, and a walk to Kevin Young loaded the bases. Catcher Jason Kendall's bloop fell in shallow left center for a base hit that scored Meares and Ward to tie the game at two. Young moved to third on Kendall's hit and scored on Sprague's single to left, putting the Bucs in front 3-2.
The home squad retied the game in the bottom of the third. Estes began the inning by hitting Meares in the knee with a pitch. Meares was forced by Ward, but Young lined a single up the middle to put runners at the corners. Kendall's fly to left center was caught by Santangelo, whose throw to the plate was in time. Ward managed to safely slide around it, and we were tied at four.
The Bucs took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when left fielder Freddy Garcia smacked Estes' first pitch into the left field upper deck for a leadoff home run, his eighth of the year,
The Pirates added a run in the bottom of the sixth. Meares walked with one out. Ward's fly to right was caught at the wall by Benard for the second out. Young walked to put two men on, and Kendall lined a base hit to left center to score Meares and make it 6-4.
The Giants tied the game with one out in the top of the eighth when pinch hitter Ellis Burks, batting for reliever John Johnstone, lined a 2-1 curveball from Pirates reliever Scott Sauerbeck over the left field wall. It was Burks' thirty-second home run of the year.
The Pirates scored the game's final run in the bottom of the ninth. Kendall led off with a double off the wall in left center. but Giants closer Robbie Nen caught Sprague looking and struck out pinch hitter Brant Brown (batting for Garcia) swinging, Warren Morris batted for Benjamin and spanked another double off the wall in left center that scored Kendall and cut the Pittsburgh deficit to 9-7, and manager Gene Lamont decided to play his trump card by sending Brian Giles up to bat for Wilkins. Nen's first pitch was skied into shallow right center, where Santangelo made the catch to end the game.
Final totals: Giants 9-13-0, Pirates 7-10-0,
W- R. Rodriguez (4-0)
S- Nen (38)
L- Wilkins (2-4)
HR- SF: Bonds (38), Burks (32), Snow (26)
PIT: Garcia (8)
DW- Loiselle (2-2)
DL- F. Rodriguez (2-2)
LHR- PIT: Sprague (21)
Here are the updated standings in the National League West:
Diamondbacks: 99-63
Giants: 89-73- 10 GB
Dodgers: 77-85- 22 GB
Padres: 74-88- 25 GB
Rockies: 71-91- 28 GB
In the National League Central:
Houston Astros: 97-65
Cincinnati Reds: 96-66- 1 GB
Pirates: 77-84- 19.5 GB
St. Louis Cardinals: 75-86- 20.5 GB
Milwaukee Brewers: 74-87- 22.5 GB
Chicago Cubs: 67-95- 30 GB
Note: I've removed the Reds' playoff loss from their record until I know whether it's needed or not at the end of the season,
In real time, the Giants had the best record in baseball at 20-9 with a three-and-a-half game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West.
On May 6, while the Giants were flying home to begin their next homestand, it was revealed that Bonds was attempting to play through not just a sore knee, bur a groin injury of undisclosed severity, bone spurs in his left elbow, and a left biceps injury that was later found to be a torn tendon, Despite all of this, Bonds was determined to play as much as he possibly could.
That didn't include the Giants' series opener against the Brewers on May 7. Kent's two-run homer off of Milwaukee starting pitcher Rafael Roque got the home squad off to a good start in the first, and Hayes gave them the lead for good with a double in the third. Nen shut things down in the ninth, and the Orange and Black escaped with a 4-3 win,
Bonds returned to the lineup for Game 2 of the Brewers series on Saturday, May 8. Steve Woodard will start for the Brewers, while Kirk Rueter takes the ball for the Giants.
Next: Game 2 between the Brewers and the Giants.
Thoughts?