Bonds' big hits close on run record

Barry Bonds hit his 69th home run in the sixth inning of Saturday's 3-1 triumph over the San Diego Padres and closed within one homer of matching Mark McGwire's single-season record. With the game tied at 1-1 the San Francisco Giants slugger smashed a 2-1 pitch from Chuck McElroy into McCovey's Cove beyond the right-field wall to put the Giants ahead for good.

Bonds needs just one home run in his last seven games to match McGwire's record, set in 1998 with the St Louis Cardinals. Bonds already holds the single-season Major League records for road homers and homers by a left-handed hitter.

Bonds' blast was the 563rd of his career, tying him with his distant cousin, the Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson. It was the 17th homer to reach the water beyond the right-field stands at Pacific Bell Park and Bonds has accounted for 15 of them.

Despite Bonds' heroics, the Giants remain two games behind Arizona, the leaders of the National League West. San Francisco are also three games out in the chase for a wild card. "I don't feel pressure with the [home run] race," Bonds said. "I feel pressure with the [pennant] race. Arizona, unfortunately, is not co-operating."

In Phoenix, Steve Finley has been in scintillating form this week and Luis Gonzalez has been on a roll for nearly the entire season. Finley tripled, homered and drove in three runs and Gonzalez homered, drove in two runs and became just the 26th player to record 400 total bases in a season as the Arizona Diamondbacks all but ended the Los Angeles Dodgers' play-off hopes with an 8-1 hammering.

The victory kept the Diamondbacks two games ahead of second-place San Francisco in the National League West with seven to play. The loss eliminated the Dodgers from wild card contention.

In Denver, the pitcher Denny Neagle belted a grand slam and Terry Shumpert had four hits as the Colorado Rockies outslugged the Milwaukee Brewers 14-12.

In Atlanta, for the second time in a week, Brian Jordan dealt the New York Mets' post-season hopes a major blow. This time, it is unlikely New York will recover. Jordan's two-out, two-strike grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning off John Franco capped a seven-run rally as the Atlanta Braves stunned the Mets to win 8-5.

In St Louis, Matt Morris and two relievers combined on a five-hitter as the Cardinals posted a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The win moved St Louis within two games of the Houston Astros in the National League Central and pushed their lead over the San Francisco Giants in the wild card chase to 3.5 games.

In Miami, it was almost déjà vu for the Philadelphia Phillies. Pat Burrell capped a four-run rally in the fourth inning with a two-run homer but the rookie Brandon Duckworth tired in the seventh as the Phillies escaped with a 5-4 victory over the Florida Marlins.

Philadelphia wasted a 5-1 lead in Friday's series opener and saw Jose Mesa blow a 5-4 lead in the ninth before the Marlins won in the 10th. Saturday's contest followed the same formula until the end as the Phillies held on.