Bonds' heroics not enough for Giants
04/26/2006 8:58 PM ET
Bonds' heroics not enough for Giants
Slugger ties game with pinch-hit homer, but Mets win in 11
By Rich Draper / MLB.com
Barry Bonds sent the game into extra innings with his two-out, pinch-hit homer
in the ninth. (Jeff Chiu/AP)
SAN FRANCISCO -- It wasn't a problem for Giants pitcher Matt Morris returning
to duty Wednesday after an eight-pitch effort and subsequent ejection three
days ago, but in San Francisco's 9-7, 11-inning loss to the Mets at AT&T Park,
he faced a surprisingly strong adversary.
Mets starting pitcher -- and potent batter -- Brian Bannister.
Huh? The pitcher?
Unfortunately for the Giants, yes, as the right-hander -- ranked seventh in
the National League with a 2.35 ERA entering Wednesday -- stunned Morris by
ripping a fourth-inning two-run double and a two-bagger in the sixth that gave
the Mets a temporary 4-3 lead.
That's the bitter memory Morris takes into Thursday's off-day, as the Giants
lost the series, 2-1, despite a dramatic ninth inning when Barry Bonds slugged
a pinch-hit, two-run homer that sent the game into extra innings.
Ultimately, reliever Scott Munter would take his first loss as New York scored
twice in the 11th, but Morris blamed himself for throwing poor pitches in bad
locations.
"[Bannister] just put a missile down the right-field line and that cost me two
runs," Morris said of the pitcher's first bash. "Then a little cutter that I
threw down and away ... he went with it again and hit it into the gap.
"He did a lot of damage to me, and ended up scoring the winning run at the
time," said Morris. "You can't let that happen. You can't let the pitcher beat
you."
Morris said he hadn't watched video of Bannister -- hey, he's a pitcher -- but
his location was off and the hitters were on. Bannister did pay a price in
the sixth as he suffered a right hamstring strain scoring on Kaz Matsui's
double, and the righty was in pain hobbling toward home.
"I felt good physically, and it was good to get back out instead of going on
10 days' [rest]," said Morris, who was ejected after hitting two batters in
Sunday's start at Colorado.
"I put myself in a hole, and [while the Giants came back], you can't hope for
that every time," said the veteran. "I would never say it was bad luck -- I
had bad location and was getting myself in trouble. It's the big leagues, and
when you make a mistake, these guys are going to jump right on it."
One mistake pitch -- a high-90s fastball by Mets closer Billy Wagner -- was
crushed by Bonds for his third homer of the season and 711th of his career.
The slugger is now only three homers shy of Babe Ruth's career total, and he's
obviously feeling healthier and stronger.
Was manager Felipe Alou a bit shocked to see Wagner throw to Bonds?
"They pitched to Barry with a guy throwing 98, 97," said the manager. "If that
guy doesn't pitch to him, who will? We know they bring in the lefty to pitch
to Bonds, not to walk him."
It was a moment of excitement as the homer tied the game at 7, but it extended
the contest long enough for closer Armando Benitez to see action in the ninth
.
Benitez had thrown only 1 1/3 scoreless frames after recovering from left knee
bursitis, and he was lifted after finishing the 10th, in which he walked
three batters, one intentionally.
"Usually the closer, they like to either win or lose the game," said Alou.
"The only reason I went out [to remove Benitez] was because he had thrown 44
pitches. We all know he just started pitching the other day. That was only his
third appearance. When he told me he was feeling good physically, I left him
in there."
The Mets' Julio Franco -- the oldest active Major Leaguer at age 47 -- ripped
a two-run single up the middle off reliever Tim Worrell in the eighth, then
became the second oldest player to steal a base when he swiped second.
The New York Giants' Arlie Latham was 49 when he stole a base in 1909 in
Philadelphia.
Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the
approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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只因滄海是我的鄰居
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