Braves turn back Bonds, Giants

Saturday, Aug. 28, 2004 | 6:41 a.m.

Not even a big home run by Barry Bonds could stop Jaret Wright from winning again.

Wright set a career high with his 13th win and drove in the go-ahead run with a surprise bunt Friday night, helping the Atlanta Braves overcome Bonds' 694th homer in a 5-3 victory over visiting San Francisco.

In the opener of a four-game series between playoff contenders, Bonds' three-run shot off Wright gave the Giants a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning.

"I was pretty upset when he hit the homer because he's the guy you don't want to let beat you," Wright said.

But the Braves came back in the bottom half and tied it on Chipper Jones' two-run homer. When Wright came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out, he looked down at his third base coach and thought he got a bunt sign.

He was wrong. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox never put a play on.

"He just pushed it on his own, and it worked out," Cox said, cracking a smile after the Braves won their fifth straight.

Julio Franco was not running with the pitch and got a late break off third base. Giants reliever Matt Herges fielded the bunt and had a play at the plate, but instead settled for the out at first as Franco scored the go-ahead run.

Herges said he didn't hear catcher A.J. Pierzynski calling for him to throw home.

"Yeah, I screwed up," Herges said. "I didn't hear it, but I guess someone was yelling. ... I think it caught everybody off guard, even the runner."

In other NL games, it was: Houston 15, Chicago 7; Montreal 10, San Diego 3; St. Louis 8, Pittsburgh 5; Philadelphia 6, Milwaukee 1; New York 9, Los Angeles 2; Arizona 4, Cincinnati 3 in 11 innings; and Florida 3, Colorado 0.

Wright (13-6) allowed six hits in seven innings, leaving his ERA at 3.20. He went 12-10 with Cleveland in 1998 but did not reach double figures in wins again until emerging as the surprise of Atlanta's rotation this year.

After Edgardo Alfonzo hit a two-out single off Chris Reitsma in the eighth, Cox brought in left-hander Tom Martin to face Bonds, who took a called third strike on a backdoor sinker to end the inning with the Braves ahead 4-3.

"I don't know what the pitch was, but it just froze me," Bonds said.

John Smoltz struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 35th save in 38 chances, and the Braves still lead the NL East by 9 1/2 games.

The Giants remained one game behind the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card race.

Jones hit his 25th home run of the season off Kirk Rueter (7-10), giving him 11 homers and 28 RBIs in August. With 72 RBIs, Jones has revived his hopes of driving in at least 100 runs for a ninth straight season.

Astros 15, Cubs 7

At Chicago, Carlos Beltran hit two home runs, and Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman and Jeff Kent also homered off a shaky Kerry Wood (7-6) as the Astros snapped Chicago's five-game winning streak.

Beltran has homered in five straight games. Houston has won nine of 12.

Roy Oswalt (15-9) allowed six runs in eight innings for the win. The benches cleared following an angry verbal exchange between Oswalt and Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, five days after Oswalt was ejected for hitting Barrett with a pitch. No punches were thrown.

Nomar Garciaparra and Derrek Lee homered for the Cubs.

Cardinals 8, Pirates 5

At Pittsburgh, Jim Edmonds hit a pair of two-run homers and matched his career high with five RBIs. Jeff Suppan (13-6) matched his career high for wins, and Jason Isringhausen got his 37th save.

Expos 10, Padres 3

At Montreal, Brad Wilkerson homered and had three RBIs, and Tony Batista hit a two-run shot for the Expos. San Diego remained two games back in the wild-card race.

Phillies 6, Brewers 1

At Philadelphia, Vicente Padilla (5-6) pitched seven shutout innings for his first win since May 23, and the Phillies sent Milwaukee to its ninth straight loss.

The Phillies snapped a seven-game home losing streak. They scored all their runs with two outs in the fifth inning against Victor Santos (10-9), keyed by two-run singles from Bobby Abreu and David Bell.

Marlins 3, Rockies 0

At Miami, Ismael Valdez (11-7) allowed just four hits before leaving in the seventh because of an Achilles' injury, and Luis Castillo hit an RBI single. Armando Benitez earned his 37th save, completing the four-hitter. Joe Kennedy (6-6) pitched seven strong innings for the Rockies, who have dropped five straight.

Mets 9, Dodgers 2

At New York, Gerald Williams singled twice in a six-run first inning and the Mets broke out of their offensive funk in a big way, ending a five-game losing streak.

Tom Glavine hit an RBI single during the early burst and coasted to his 260th career win. Dodgers starter Wilson Alvarez (7-5) came out in the second inning with a bruised left forearm after being struck by Cliff Floyd's hard one-hopper.

Glavine (9-10) won for only the second time in 12 starts. He pitched six effective innings for his first victory since losing two front teeth in a taxi accident earlier this month.

Diamondbacks 4, Reds 3, 11 innings

At Cincinnati, Andy Green tripled and scored on Alex Cintron's single in the 11th. Adam Dunn hit his 38th homer for the Reds.