HOUSTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Barry Bonds hit his 70th homer Thursday night, tying Mark McGwire's 3-year-old homer mark with a landmark solo shot that capped a 10-2 victory for the San Francisco Giants over the collapsing Houston Astros.
The Giants owned a 9-2 lead when Bonds led off the ninth against rookie lefthander Wilfredo Rodriguez, who was making just his second major league appearance.
Rodriguez tried to challenge the slugger with hard stuff and Bonds swung through a fastball before taking an outside pitch.
Bonds then belted a 450-foot blast into the upper deck in right-center field. As he often does, Bonds flipped aside his bat and stood to watch his handiwork. The crowd at Enron Field gave him a standing ovation as he trotted around the bases.
When Bonds reached home plate, he raised his arms to the sky. He was met by on-deck batter Andres Galarraga and his son, who was serving as the batboy.
The ovation continued as Bonds blew kisses to his family and received congratulations from his teammates. The moment ended with Bonds taking a rare curtain call as a visiting player.
Bonds has three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers to break McGwire's 1998 record. The single-season homer mark had stood for 37 years until McGwire shattered it three years ago.
Bonds had been walked eight times in the three games, including three in this one. While the Astros virtually refused to pitch to him, they continued to show they cannot pitch to just about anyone else, either.
Houston has lost six straight and fell one game behind St. Louis for the National League Central Division lead. The Astros need just one win to clinch no less than a wild card berth, but closes the season with three games at St. Louis.
The Giants also are in a race. They remained two games behind first-place Arizona in the NL West with their eighth wins in 10 games. However, they have been two games behind Arizona for the last 17 days of play.
