Aug 11, 2002 5 min read

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Even though Lloyd McClendon had ordered his pitchers to walk Barry Bonds twice in the previous three innings, the Pittsburgh manager didn’t hesitate to do it again. That’s when the Pirates’ luck finally gave out.

Benito Santiago hit a grand slam after Bonds broke the major league record with his 46th intentional walk of the season, and Jeff Kent drove in three runs as the San Francisco Giants beat the Pirates 8-3 Saturday.

McClendon, who played with Bonds in Pittsburgh, congratulated the San Francisco slugger on his 600th homer on Friday night. The next day, he attempted to keep the game close with a very sound decision: pitch around Bonds three times to get to Santiago.

“But you can only go to the well so many times,” McClendon said with a grimace. “They’ve got a lot of veteran ballplayers over there.”

Bonds broke Willie McCovey’s 1969 record for intentional walks in a season. His three intentional walks also tied the record for a nine-inning game. Bonds opined at length about his place in baseball history on Friday night, but he was back to his usual ways on Saturday.

“Does it mean anything? No,” Bonds said. “I need a day off (from the media), please.”

Instead of another homer from Bonds, the Giants got two run-scoring doubles from Kent and the eighth career grand slam by Santiago, who felt more insulted with each free pass to Bonds. In the seventh, he launched a hanging slider from reliever Mike Lincoln (0-3) into the left-field stands.

“I didn’t like that, man,” Santiago said. “I didn’t like that whole thing. Hitting behind this man is a lot of pressure. I just tried to hit a fly ball that time, and the ball got up. It went a little further than I thought. It felt good.”

Santiago emerged from the dugout for his first curtain call in “a long time,” he said.

“I’ve been saying all along, I’m very impressed with Benito’s work ethic,” said Kent, who has hit behind Bonds for most of the last three seasons. “He doesn’t get too emotional. He stays on an even keel and works hard. It was great to see something like that happen.”

Manny Aybar (1-0) pitched 2 1-3 hitless innings in relief of Kirk Rueter for the victory.

Rueter yielded seven hits and three runs in five innings. Pirates starter Kris Benson was strong, allowing three hits and striking out six in five innings.

The Giants won for the fifth time in seven games and kept pace in the NL wild card race. San Francisco led the race earlier this week, but dropped back behind Los Angeles.

“The way I look at it, there’s still two places up for grabs, but the Diamondbacks are playing so well,” Kent said. “You can’t just be thinking about the wild card. You know me: I shoot for the moon.”

While Bonds celebrated his milestone homer on Friday night, the Pirates won the game 4-3. They went up 3-0 Saturday on two RBIs from Jack Wilson and a run-scoring single by Brian Giles in the fifth.

San Francisco tied it in the bottom half when third baseman Aramis Ramirez’s throwing error kept the inning alive. David Bell scored on the error, and Kent followed with a two-run double.

“Most of the time, it’s breaks that get you started,” Giants manager Dusty Baker said.

In the seventh, the Giants jumped all over Lincoln, who was recalled from Triple-A Nashville following Friday night’s game and immediately thrown into a no-win situation. Kent doubled home Tom Goodwin with the go-ahead run before Lincoln walked Bonds to face Santiago, who blasted his 12th homer.

“You don’t want to put extra guys on base, but (Bonds) is a guy who’s going to hurt you more times than not,” said Lincoln, who began his day in Memphis and arrived at Pacific Bell Park about 45 minutes before game time. “It’s probably the best move to put him on base. I didn’t do my part of the job, though.”

Ramirez, who drove in four runs on Friday night, left the game in the eighth with a bruised arm. He was hit by a pitch from Aybar in the sixth inning, but McClendon said Ramirez will play on Sunday.

The Giants’ victory means Bonds is likely to get the day off Sunday, when San Francisco finishes its six-game homestand. The Giants don’t play again until Tuesday in Atlanta, allowing Baker to give Bonds two days to rest his torn hamstring.

Santiago also is likely to rest on Sunday.

NOTES: Santiago’s last grand slam came on Sept. 6, 2000, while the veteran catcher was with Cincinnati. Santiago returned to the All-Star game this summer after a 10-year absence. … Giants OF Kenny Lofton will sit out the weekend games to rest the strained hamstring he tweaked while stealing second base on Friday night. Lofton, acquired to provide the leadoff threat San Francisco has lacked for years, has hit .282 and scored seven runs in his first two weeks with the club. … The Pirates lost for the fifth time in seven games.