SAN FRANCISCO, 20 September 2004 — Jay Payton’s three-run homer led the San Diego Padres to a 5-1 win over the San Francisco Giants in National League play on Saturday, despite a 701st career blast from Barry Bonds.
A day after smacking number 700, Bonds delighted the crowd by leading off the second inning with his 43rd homer of the season on the first pitch he saw from David Wells, a blast that gave him 1,839 RBI, tying him with Ted Williams for 11th place on the all-time list.
That was all the offense the Giants could muster, including Bonds, who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts his final three times up. Payton had three of San Diego’s seven hits in the game, including his three-run shot off Jason Schmidt in the seventh inning that snapped a 1-1 tie.
In other play, Chris Carpenter and four relievers combined on a six-hit shutout as the St Louis Cardinals blanked the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0. The Cards clinched at least the NL wild card with the win and need just two more wins to lock up the NL Central title.
In Denver, Joe Kennedy pitched seven strong innings and had a two-run triple as the Colorado Rockies mauled the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1. Todd Helton had four hits and drove in a run for the Rockies.
Jaret Wright pitched 8 1/3 strong innings as the Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins 4-2. Wright (15-7) allowed two runs on three hits with five strikeouts and one walk before John Smoltz got the last two outs for his 39th save and Andruw Jones had two hits and drove in a run.
In Houston, Jeff Bagwell homered and drove in three runs as the Houston Astros edged the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3. Chad Harville (3-2) went 2/3 innings for the win and Brad Lidge pitched the ninth for his 24th save.
Willy Mo Pena hit a pair of home runs, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. D’Angelo Jimenez also homered for the Reds.
In Pittsburgh, Mike Cameron drove in the winning run with a 10th inning sacrifice fly, leading the New York Mets past the Pirates 8-7. New York rallied after blowing an early 7-0 lead.
In Philadelphia, Tony Batista singled in the winning run in the top of 14th inning, leading the Montreal Expos to a 6-5 win over the Phillies. Batista had four hits and drove in three runs and Terrmel Sledge homered and had three RBI.
Lieber Dominates as Yankees Thump Red Sox
Jon Leiber carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning while Alex Rodriguez homered, scored three runs and drove in three more to lead the New York Yankees to a 14-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
The Yankees pounded out 15 hits and forged a 9-0 lead after two innings, a day after closer Mariano Rivera gave up two runs in the ninth inning in a 3-2 loss to the Red Sox.
In other games, Miguel Tejada hit two home runs and drove in five runs as the Baltimore Orioles pounded the Minnesota Twins 12-3.
In Toronto, David Bush and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, leading the Blue Jays to a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Bush (4-4) gave up two runs — one earned — on two hits over six innings and Miguel Batista worked the ninth for his second career save and first since 1999.
Emergency starter Joaquin Benoit and six relievers combined on a six-hitter as the Texas Rangers edged the Anaheim Angels 2-0. Erasmo Ramirez (5-3) got four outs for the win and Francisco Cordero pitched two scoreless innings for his 45th save.
In Seattle, Erubiel Durazo had four hits and Mark Scutaro had three RBI to lead the Oakland Athletics past the Seattle Mariners 7-4. Eric Chavez homered for Oakland. Tim Hudson (12-5) allowed three runs on eight hits in eight innings for the win.
Joe Borchard scored from second base on an infield hit by Aaron Rowland in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 9-8 win over the Detroit Tigers. Borchard and Rowland also both homered in the bottom of the 10th to tie the game and Juan Uribe had three hits and scored twice for Chicago.
Dmitri Young and Carlos Pena both hit two home runs and had three RBI for Detroit and Ivan Rodriguez drove in a pair of runs. Al Levine (3-4) took the loss.
In Cleveland, John Buck hit a two-run homer, helping the Kansas City Royals defeat the Indians 7-1. Angel Berroa added three hits and an RBI for K.C. Jimmy Gobble (8-8) allowed one run on just two hits over seven innings with five strikeouts and five walks.
