SAN FRANCISCO, California, 3 May 2004 — A. J. Pierzynski had three hits and drove in two runs while Marquis Grissom drove in three more to lead the San Francisco Giants past the Florida Marlins 6-3 on Saturday.
The game was also notable for the record set by Giants outfielder Barry Bonds for intentional walks.
With the Marlins refusing to pitch to him, as has been the case several times already this season, Bonds received four intentional walks, a record for a nine inning game.
Bonds, who is batting .463, went 0-1 on the game, with him flying out to left field on the only time the Marlins pitched to him.
Brian Dallimore drove in the other run for San Francisco, who had nine walks in total.
Jason Schmidt (2-2) allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits over seven innings for the win. Jason Christiansen and Matt Herges finished the eight-hitter, with Herges getting the last four outs for his ninth save.
In Denver, Mark Sweeney’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning drove in the winning run as the Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in the first game of a double header. Vladimir Nunez (3-0) pitched a scoreless eight to give the Rockies their first win over the Braves in eight games before Shawn Chacon got the last three outs for his sixth save.
In the second game, Jesse Garcia and Johnny Estrada both had two-run singles in a six-run eighth inning, rallying the Braves past the Rockies 11-7. C.J. Nitkowski (1-0) got just one out in relief for the win.
In Houston, Jeff Kent had four RBI as the Astros crushed the Cincinnati Reds 10-4. Richard Hidalgo had three hits and drove in three runs for the Astros, while Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell both added three hits and one RBI to Houston’s 16-hit attack.
In St. Louis, Aramis Ramirez led the Chicago Cubs to a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals with a fourth-inning three-run homer. Matt Clement (4-1) allowed one run on five hits over eight innings.
In Philadelphia, Carlos Baerga hit a three-run home run, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Phillies 6-4. Randy Johnson (3-2) allowed three runs on four hits over five innings, striking out nine and walking one. Matt Mantei pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
In Los Angeles, Adrian Beltre hit two home runs and drove in the winning run with an eighth inning single as the Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos 5-4. Juan Encarnacion also had three hits for the Dodgers, while Eric Gagne pitched the ninth for his seventh save and 70th consecutive, extending his own record.
In San Diego, Jake Peavy pitched six solid innings, leading the Padres to a 3-1 win over the New York Mets. Peavy (2-1) allowed one run on eight hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
In Milwaukee, Craig Wilson’s RBI double in the 10th inning gave the Pittsburgh Pirates an 8-7 win over the Brewers.
Sierra Drives in Seven Runs for Yankees
In Ruben Sierra hit two home runs, driving in seven runs, to lead the New York Yankees to their fifth straight win, an easy 12-4 mauling of the Kansas City Royals in American League play on Saturday.
The Yankees are now 13-11 for the season, the first time they have been two games over .500.
Manager Joe Torre missed the game because he was at a family celebration, with coaches Willie Randolph and Mel Stottlemyre deputizing for him, though they had an easy day.
Sierra hit a three-run homer in the third inning and added a grand slam in the eighth to get a standing ovation from the 54,103 fans in attendance.
Hideki Matsui also homered and had three hits while Derek Jeter put his prolonged slump behind him with three hits. New York had 14 hits off five Kansas City pitchers.
In Detroit, Jeremy Bonderman pitched 7 2/3 solid innings, leading the Tigers to a 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. Bonderman (3-1) allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts while Ugueth Urbina pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save.
In Cleveland, Coco Crisp drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the 13th inning, leading the Indians past the Baltimore Orioles 3-2. Chad Durbin (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Lou Merloni added two hits and an RBI for Cleveland.
In Chicago, Joe Crede hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to score Magglio Ordonez in the bottom of the 10th inning and give the White Sox a 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game of a double header.
Crede also homered and drove in three runs in total. Shingo Takatsu (1-0) pitched a scoreless 10th for his first win.
In the second game, Frank Catalanotto set a team record by going six-for-six as the Blue Jays beat the White Sox 10-6. Eric Hinske and Orlando Hudson both homered for the Blue Jays. Ted Lilly (2-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings for the win.
In St. Petersburg, Erubiel Durazo hit a two-out grand slam home run in the top of the ninth inning, leading the Oakland Athletics past the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-5.
It was Durazo’s third homer in two games.
The Devil Rays then scored four runs themselves in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run triple by Carl Crawford and a two-run homer by Jose Cruz Jr, but it was not enough to steal victory.
In Minneapolis, Chone Figgins drove in the lone run with a single in the ninth inning, allowing the Anaheim Angels to sneak past the Minnesota Twins 1-0. Four Anaheim pitchers combined on a four-hitter, including winner Francisco Rodriguez (1-0) and Troy Percival (sixth save), who both pitched a scoreless inning.
In Arlington, Alfonso Soriano hit a seventh inning RBI double that helped the Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in the first game of a double header. In the second game Rod Barajas had three hits and drove in two runs, leading the Rangers to an 8-5 win.
