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744

San Francisco Giants: 9
Philadelphia Phillies: 4

Barry Bonds is beating the Phillies whether they pitch to him or not.

Bonds hit his 744th career home run in the San Francisco Giants' 9-4 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday, moving him within 11 of Hank Aaron's record of 755.

A night earlier, the Giants scored three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings after walks to the slugger on the way to a 6-2 win.

"Whether he's hitting or he's walking, it still changes the game," winning pitcher Noah Lowry said. "We've got other guys who can do some damage, and they're stepping up and doing it."

Bonds led off the second inning Saturday and sent the first pitch from Jon Lieber over the fence in center for his 10th homer of the year, a drive that traveled an estimated 438 feet. Bonds connected for the fifth time in his career against Lieber, who has given up eight total hits to Bonds.

The 42-year-old Bonds rounded the bases to cheers as "744" flashed on the scoreboard. Eliezer Alfonzo added a solo shot to start the seventh for his first homer of the year, and Pedro Feliz hit a three-run homer in the eighth after a walk to Bonds.

"I know a lot of times they're still going to pitch around him," first baseman Ryan Klesko said. "If we can continue to get big hits and put runners in scoring position, it'll put us in that much of a better position to win. Barry's swinging a hot bat."

That's ten on the year for Bonds. He's currently hitting .347 with 22 RBIs and 1 stolen base. His on-base percentage is .529 and his slugging? .806

11 to tie Aaron, 12 to make history. He could easily do it before the All-Star Break.