[ MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
San Francisco Giants' pitcher Jerome Williams works the seventh inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks last night at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.
Williams notches win
as Bonds makes
emotional return
PHOENIX >> Barry Bonds looked up and pointed toward the sky, just as he does after every home run.
But this was no ordinary homer. His heart told him so.
Overwhelmed by emotion after connecting in his first game back following his father's death, Bonds later left the San Francisco Giants' 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday with an accelerated heart rate.
"It's tough. I lost my coach," Bonds said.
His father, Bobby, died Aug. 23 at age 57 after being ill for nearly a year with lung cancer and a brain tumor.
"The emotions just went through me, I felt lightheaded and couldn't stop my heart rate from racing," Bonds said. "After the home run I couldn't breathe. I tried to stay in there as long as I could. That's never happened to me."
Resting on one knee in the on-deck circle when the top of the eighth ended, Bonds came out of the game in the bottom half. He left the Giants' dugout shortly thereafter because of heart palpitations he said started with his homer off Randy Johnson.
San Francisco trainer Stan Conte said Bonds' heart rate was between 150-160 beats per minute after the home run -- a normal adult heart rate ranges from 60-100 beats per minute.
Bonds felt better after the game, and Conte said the team would monitor his heart rate through the night. Bonds was expected to play today.
"This guy has been through a lot of stress," manager Felipe Alou said. "Then to show up and play right away is not an easy thing to do."
Bonds homered in his second at-bat, leading rookie right-hander Jerome Williams and the Giants to an emotional victory.
Williams, the former Waipahu High standout, won his first game since July 12. He walked three, all in the first three innings, and struck out eight.
Bonds, who missed six games after his father's death, reached on an infield single in the first, then hit a 403-foot homer into the right-field stands in the fourth.
"If you believe in life after death, a lot of people were looking at that moment," Alou said.
After crossing home plate, the normally placid slugger pointed skyward with his index fingers and clapped once. He looked upward for a few moments, his gaze lingering longer than usual.
"My dad's helped a lot of people's careers, especially mine," Bonds said. "I just felt like somebody's carrying me right now, giving me an extra push."
Minutes later, as he left the Giants' first-base dugout to jog to left field, Bonds briefly pulled his cap low on his forehead and appeared to wipe his eyes.
"When he came in you could see the emotion on his face," Williams said.
Bonds' home run was his major league-leading 40th of the season and the 653rd of his career. He moved within seven homers of his godfather, Willie Mays, for third place on the all-time list.
Giants 2, Diamondbacks 1
San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Hammonds rf-lf 4 0 1 0 0 2 .221 Aurilia ss 3 1 1 1 1 0 .271 Grissom cf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .296 Bonds lf 2 1 2 1 1 0 .343 JoCruz rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 .247 BSantiago c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .276 Galarraga 1b 3 0 0 0 1 3 .297 Alfonzo 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 .251 NPerez 2b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .260 JeWilliams p 4 0 0 0 0 2 .074 Worrell p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 32 2 6 2 4 11 Arizona AB R H BI BB SO Avg. Kata 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .274 Cintron ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 .312 LGonzalez lf 2 0 0 0 2 0 .303 Mondesi rf 4 1 3 0 0 1 .309 Hillenbrand 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .270 Spivey 2b 4 0 1 0 0 2 .265 Bautista cf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .265 Moeller c 2 0 0 0 1 0 .267 b-Baerga ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .331 RJohnson p 2 0 0 0 0 2 .115 a-SFinley ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .284 Villarreal p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Valverde p 0 0 0 0 0 0 --- Totals 32 1 6 1 3 9
San Francisco 100 100 000 -- 2 6 0 Arizona 000 000 001 -- 1 6 0
a-flied out for Johnson in the 7th. b-struck out for Moeller in the 9th.
LOB--San Francisco 7, Arizona 7. 2B--Grissom (30), Mondesi (7). HR--Bonds (40), off RJohnson; Aurilia (10), off RJohnson. RBIs--Aurilia (46), Bonds (80), Bautista (27). GIDP--BSantiago, Hillenbrand.
Runners left in scoring position--San Francisco 3 (Galarraga, JeWilliams 2); Arizona 3 (Spivey 2, RJohnson).
DP--San Francisco 1 (JeWilliams, NPerez and Galarraga); Arizona 1 (Spivey, Cintron and Hillenbrand).
Inherited runners-scored--Worrell 2-1.
San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA JeWilliams W, 6-3 8 1/3 6 1 1 3 8 106 3.32 Worrell S, 30 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 11 2.33 Arizona IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA RJohnson L, 4-7 7 5 2 2 2 11 98 4.84 Villarreal 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 2.48 Valverde 1 1 0 0 2 0 25 2.09
IBB--off RJohnson (Bonds) 1.
Umpires--Home, Larry Vanover; First, Jerry Meals; Second, Chris Guccione; Third, Steve Rippley.
T--2:41. A--39,383 (49,033).
