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The Los Angeles Dodgers didn't give Barry Bonds much of a chance to beat them.
After the Dodgers walked the San Francisco slugger intentionally for the fourth time in the game in the 12th inning, Milton Bradley singled home a run in the bottom half to give Los Angeles 5-4 victory over the Giants on Friday night.
The four intentional walks to Bonds were one short of a major league record. He singled both times the Dodgers pitched to him, driving in a run in the first inning.
``In the latter stages of the game, he represented the go-ahead run when he came up,'' Los Angeles manager Jim Tracy said. ``Those pitches he hit in the early part of the game were just about as good as you could throw, and he still hit them hard.
``He's in a mode now that there's nothing you can throw to him that's safe.''
Bonds, who had his streak of hitting homers in seven consecutive games end Wednesday, had taken Thursday off.
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Los Angeles starter Odalis Perez, who gave up the two singles to Bonds and put
him on the other time he faced him, said, ``Bonds is the only guy on that team
that can hurt you. You put him on base and pitch to the next guy.''
Bonds wasn't commenting on the intentional walks, saying only, ``My knees are killing me. I've got to go, man, I'm tired. It's been a long day.''
Giants manager Felipe Alou obviously is used to seeing Bonds walked.
``I saw that all last year, and the year before that I believe he got 68,'' said Alou, beginning his second season with San Francisco.
``There's not much I can do about it. It's up to the guy behind him to do something about that. It's tough to win the triple crown if they don't pitch to you.''
The Dodgers' Cesar Izturis greeted Matt Herges with a double to left-center to lead off the 12th. Bradley followed with a ground single through the left side and Izturis beat Bonds' one-bounce throw to the plate.
The Dodgers have won seven of nine and the Giants have lost eight of nine, including four one-run losses to archrival Los Angeles.
AP - Apr 24, 12:34 am EDT
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Darren Dreifort (1-0) pitched two hitless innings for the Dodgers. Herges (0-2)
faced just two batters.
Eric Gagne put Bonds on with two out and nobody on in the top of the ninth. Bonds had hit a towering two-run homer off the Dodgers' closer in the ninth a week earlier in San Francisco, but Los Angeles won 3-2 and Gagne got the save.
Bonds was intentionally walked from four different pitchers: Perez, Guillermo Mota, Gagne and Dreifort.
The record for most intentional walks is five, by the Cubs' Andre Dawson in 16 innings against Cincinnati in 1990.
Shawn Green's two-run homer in the fifth inning tied the game at 4, and itstayed that way until Bradley ended it.
Notes
Consecutive triples by Paul Lo Duca and Juan Encarnacion in the fourth inning
marked the first time Dodgers hitters had back-to-back triples since Bill Russell
and Ken Landreaux did it on May 19, 1985, in the first inning at Philadelphia.
... San Francisco CF Marquis Grissom left in the eighth inning because of a
mild strain in his left foot. ... After the game, the Giants sent INF Cody Ransom
to Triple-A Fresno and called up RHP Kevin Correia fromFresno.