Bonds' two homers negated by Braves
08/30/2006 1:20 AM ET
Bonds' two homers negated by Braves
Schmidt roughed up for eight runs; Hillenbrand goes yard
By Coley Harvey / MLB.com
Jason Schmidt regroups after giving up back-to-back homers in the fourth
inning. (Gregory Smith/AP)
Whoever said Turner Field was a pitchers' ballpark obviously didn't foresee
Tuesday night's game there.
The Giants uncorked three home runs at the home of the Braves, but that -- and
a little athletic play by Barry Bonds -- was still no match for Atlanta, as
it cruised to an easy 13-8 thumping of the Giants.
San Francisco starter Jason Schmidt began the night in calm fashion, retiring
the Braves 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first inning. But Schmidt -- drafted by
Atlanta in 1991 -- came unraveled in the next few frames, walking four batters
in the second and third innings and allowing seven runs before an early exit
in the fourth.
Atlanta's scoring began in the third when Pedro Feliz mishandled a hard-hit
ground ball off the bat of Edgar Renteria. Later in the inning, Moises Alou
allowed an Adam LaRoche single to go under his glove and race to the right-
field wall, allowing both Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur to easily score.
One inning later, just before manager Felipe Alou pulled Schmidt, the starter
surrendered back-to-back home runs to Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones. The
latter Jones went on to homer again, making the night his fourth two-homer
game of the season.
Jones' second home run was a two-run shot that plated his 1,000th career RBI.
"[Schmidt] looked like someone throwing just one pitch and he didn't have
command of it," Alou said. "He didn't throw many pitches that weren't
fastballs. His fastball was good, but he had no location."
While Schmidt will likely file his 82-pitch, 3 1/3-inning game in the back of
his mind, Barry Bonds made it a memorable night for the 23,756 on hand.
The Giants slugger got his team going early when he followed Shea Hillenbrand's
first-inning home run with one of his own to center field. But in the sixth
inning, with his team trailing, 8-2, Bonds added career homer No. 727, hitting
multiple home runs in a game for the first time in two years. The last time
he did it was against the Braves on Aug. 29, 2004, at Turner Field.
"For all of those skeptics who don't think [Bonds] is as dangerous as he used
to be, I think he answered that tonight," Braves manager Bobby Cox said.
Bonds' multihomer game was the 69th of his career and pushed him into second
place on the all-time list, three shy of Babe Ruth, who holds the Major League
record of 72 career multihomer games.
Those weren't the 42-year-old's only memorable moments. In the second inning,
with San Francisco clinging to a narrow 2-0 lead, Bonds looked more like a man
of 24 years when he leaped to the top of the left-field fence and robbed
Atlanta's Jeff Francoeur of a would-be three-run homer.
"He had a heck of a night," Schmidt said of Bonds. "When he does something
like that, you have to take advantage of the opportunity he gives you on the
mound.
"This past month, it seems he's got his second wind. There's a little spring
in his step. He's swinging the bat well. Even when he isn't swinging the bat
well, he's better than half the guys in the big leagues."
When Bonds leaped to the wall, Schmidt, who thought the ball was a for-sure
home run, did not expect to see the veteran outfielder haul it in. Cameras
showed Schmidt's mouth agape as he mouthed words of surprise before going to
back up Bonds' throw.
"That's stuff he used to do years ago," Schmidt said. "I knew it was a mistake
when I threw the ball. I actually thought it was going to be a lot further
out than that. I saw him jump, he pulls it back in. I was amazed."
Hillenbrand, who's been hot for the past couple of weeks, continued his tear
Tuesday when he went 4-for-5 with a double and a home run. It was the second
time in as many weeks that he came a triple shy of completing a cycle.
Coley Harvey is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject
to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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