Bonds Hits Homers Nos. 695, 696 - Los Angeles Times
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Bonds Hits Homers Nos. 695, 696

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From Associated Press

Barry Bonds hit two tape-measure two-run homers -- giving him 696 home runs in his career -- and finished four for five with six runs batted in Sunday night, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 9-5 victory over the host Atlanta Braves, whose six-game winning streak ended.

The home runs were the second- and third-longest at Turner Field, which opened in 1997. Sammy Sosa hit a 471-foot homer at the field Sept. 1, 2001.

“Who cares where it goes?†Bonds said. “As long as they go over the yellow line.â€

Bonds hit Russ Ortiz’s belt-high fastball 467 feet into the right-field stands in the third inning to put the Giants ahead, 2-0. In the fifth inning, Bonds hit his 38th, this one landing 462 feet in right field and coming off an 88-mph fastball from Ortiz.

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Bonds said he was not surprised the Braves pitched to him.

“They’re going to win their division, so there’s no need to walk me,†said Bonds, who has 183 walks -- 93 intentional -- this season.

St. Louis 4, Pittsburgh 0 -- Albert Pujols hit his 40th home run and reached 100 runs batted in for the fourth consecutive season, and the Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of the Pirates at Pittsburgh.

Pujols, who also hit his first triple this season, became the fourth player to start his major league career with four consecutive seasons with at least 100 RBIs. The others were Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.

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Jason Marquis (13-4) held the Pirates to four hits in 7 1/3 shutout innings to win his 10th decision in a row.

Houston 10, Chicago 3 -- Lance Berkman homered to lead the Astros at Chicago.

Houston’s Carlos Beltran left because of a bruised knee after he was hit by a pitch in the eighth. Berkman was hit in the helmet later in the inning, and the benches emptied for the second time in the four-game series when Astro reliever Dan Wheeler hit Derrek Lee in the back with a pitch in the ninth. Wheeler and Houston Manager Phil Garner were ejected.

The Astros are four games back in the National League wild-card race. The Cubs dropped into a tie with San Diego for the wild-card lead.

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Philadelphia 10, Milwaukee 0 -- Cory Lidle (8-12) homered and threw a four-hitter at Philadelphia for his second shutout this season, Marlon Byrd hit a grand slam and had five RBIs, and the Phillies extended Milwaukee’s losing streak to 11 games.

Florida 8, Colorado 4 -- A.J. Burnett (5-6) struck out a team-record 14 in eight innings, Miguel Cabrera homered during a five-run second inning and the Marlins completed a three-game sweep at Miami.

Mike Lowell also homered for the Marlins, who moved within four games of Chicago, San Diego and San Francisco for the lead in the NL wild-card race.

Cincinnati 6, Arizona 2 -- Edgar Gonzalez held Cincinnati hitless through six innings, but Adam Dunn’s 39th homer helped the Reds win at home.

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NL Wild-Card Race

*--* W L GB Chicago 71 59 -- San Diego 71 59 -- San Francisco 72 60 -- Florida 66 62 4 Houston 67 63 4

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