Bonds blasts two HRs in win
For one night, it seemed like old times for the San Francisco Giants with Barry Bonds hitting multiple home runs and Russ Ortiz going deep into a game to win.
Bonds shook off an early-season slump and some chilly weather to hit his 736th and 737th career homers before being lifted in the fourth inning, helping Ortiz end a 12-game losing streak in the Giants' 8-5 victory over the host Pittsburgh Pirates last night.
Bonds, hitting .192 with one homer in 26 at-bats previously, hit a two-run shot down the right-field line in the second inning off Zach Duke and a deeper solo drive into the right-center stands in the fourth off Shawn Chacon. The 42-year-old Bonds needs 19 homers to break Hank Aaron's record.
With the Giants up, 8-2, by the fourth, Bonds was lifted following his 70th career multihomer game, two short of Babe Ruth's record. Manager Bruce Bochy pulled Bonds to keep his legs fresh for the long season.
"What a day he had," said Bochy, whose team scored only 20 runs in its first nine games. "We've been trying to get this offense going and that's what we needed."
No doubt Ortiz (1-1) was willing to do anything to break his 20-month losing streak, which dated to an Aug. 29, 2005, victory against San Diego while with Arizona. He was 0-8 last season with the Diamondbacks and Orioles and lost his first decision this season.
Rangers 5, Mariners 2 -- Eric Gagne returned to the major leagues with his second save in 22 months, and Ian Kinsler's third home run in four games helped visiting Texas beat Seattle.
Kevin Millwood (2-1) allowed a run and seven hits in six innings. Akinori Otsuka worked the eighth and Gagne pitched a scoreless ninth.
Gagne, activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, made his AL debut and finished the game for his first save since June 6 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was the last game Gagne appeared in before back surgery in July ended his season.
Gagne, the 2003 NL Cy Young award winner, allowed a Ben Broussard single to lead off the ninth before striking out Ichiro Suzuki and inducing a double-play grounder to third by Beltre.
Dodgers 9, Padres 1 -- Derek Lowe pitched eight strong innings and Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run single to help host Los Angeles trounce San Diego.
Luis Gonzalez had a solo homer and an RBI single off Padres starter David Wells (0-1).
A's 5, Yankees 4 -- Bobby Kielty drove in Travis Buck with a fielder's choice in the bottom of the 11th to pace Oakland.
Reds 6, Cubs 5 -- Josh Hamilton, Adam Dunn, and Ken Griffey Jr. had consecutive RBI hits during a six-run fifth inning, helping Cincinnati overcome a 5-0 deficit against Carlos Zambrano and host Chicago.
Zambrano (1-2) doubled and homered and allowed just one hit through four innings, but failed to record an out in the fifth. He gave up six runs on six hits in four innings.
Todd Coffey (1-0) earned his first victory by pitching two scoreless innings of relief. David Weathers worked the ninth for his fourth save in four chances.
Marlins 11, Braves 4 -- Dontrelle Willis pitched seven innings for another sharp April start to help Florida win at Atlanta.
Willis (3-0) is 12-1 with a .923 winning percentage in April. That's the second-best career percentage in April to the 13-1, .929 of Babe Ruth, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Hanley Ramirez had two hits and scored three runs for the Marlins.
Astros 9, Phillies 6 -- At Philadelphia, Carlos Lee hit three homers, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs for Houston.
Morgan Ensberg also had a three-run shot for Houston, which overcame a rare erratic outing from Roy Oswalt. Oswalt (2-0) was uncharacteristically wild, walking a career-high six batters while allowing six runs and seven hits in five innings on a chilly night.
Mets 3, Nationals 2 -- Julio Franco singled up the middle to drive in the go-ahead run in the seventh for host New York.
Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 3 -- Brad Hawpe hit a tiebreaking two-out, two-run double in the seventh inning, lifting Colorado at Phoenix.
Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1 -- Roy Halladay pitched a six-hitter and Alex Rios hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to lift Toronto over Detroit. Halladay (2-0) struck out two and walked none. He threw 107 pitches to become the first pitcher with a 10-inning complete game since Mark Mulder pitched St. Louis to a 1-0 victory over Houston April 23, 2005, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Orioles 8, Royals 1 -- Erik Bedard pitched six innings of five-hit ball, and host Baltimore's struggling offense struck early and late.
White Sox 6, Indians 4 -- Juan Uribe hit a three-run homer, Jermaine Dye added a two-run shot off Fausto Carmona (0-1), and Chicago spoiled Cleveland's 107th home opener, which took seven days to get completed.
The game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the host St. Louis Cardinals was postponed because of rain. 