HOUSTON -- Barry Bonds hit his 659th home run Monday night, putting him just one behind his godfather, Willie Mays, for third place on the career list.
The San Francisco Giants slugger smacked a first-pitch fastball from Houston Astros starter Roy Oswalt just over the right-field wall in the eighth inning. The three-run shot tied the score at 4.
The Giants went on to win 5-4 when Cody Ransom scored on a J.T. Snow sacrifice fly to right.
Bonds, dogged by questions about steroids all spring, had two doubles and a walk in his previous three plate appearances.
Once Bonds, 39, passes Mays, only Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755) will lie ahead on the hallowed homer list.
Bonds, whose father, Bobby, died last year, had Mays with him throughout spring training for moral support. When Bonds hits No. 661, Mays will present his godson with the diamond-augmented Olympic torch he carried for the 1996 Olympics.
It's not the first milestone Bonds has reached in Houston. In 2001, he hit his 70th homer of the season at Minute Maid Park, tying Mark McGwire's record.
Bonds hit three more after leaving town, setting the single-season mark of 73.
ESPN.Com
The San Francisco Giants slugger smacked a first-pitch fastball from Houston Astros starter Roy Oswalt just over the right-field wall in the eighth inning. The three-run shot tied the score at 4.
The Giants went on to win 5-4 when Cody Ransom scored on a J.T. Snow sacrifice fly to right.
Bonds, dogged by questions about steroids all spring, had two doubles and a walk in his previous three plate appearances.
Once Bonds, 39, passes Mays, only Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755) will lie ahead on the hallowed homer list.
Bonds, whose father, Bobby, died last year, had Mays with him throughout spring training for moral support. When Bonds hits No. 661, Mays will present his godson with the diamond-augmented Olympic torch he carried for the 1996 Olympics.
It's not the first milestone Bonds has reached in Houston. In 2001, he hit his 70th homer of the season at Minute Maid Park, tying Mark McGwire's record.
Bonds hit three more after leaving town, setting the single-season mark of 73.
ESPN.Com
