It's Sunday, April 20, 1997, and the Giants are hosting the Chicago Cubs in the second game of a three-game series at 3Com Park. Frank Castillo is pitching for the Cubs, while Kirk Rueter gets the ball for the Giants. Bonds in in left field and will bat second, as his replacement Stan Javier did in real life. The Giants won the actual game, 4-2. As we begin, Bonds is batting .291 (155-532) with forty home runs and 101 runs batted in. If the Giants win, they'll clinch at least a tie for the National League West.
Let's begin by examining Bonds' at-bats:
In the first, center fielder Darryl Hamilton drew a leadoff walk. Bonds' base hit to right moved Hamilton to third, and right fielder Glenallen Hill lined a double into the left center power alley, which scored both Hamilton and Bonds to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. Second baseman Jeff Kent struck out swinging for out number two, but first baseman J..T. Snow walked to keep the inning alive. Third baseman Mark Lewis's bloop fell in shallow right for a base hit that cashed in Hill to give the Giants a 3-0 lead. Next was catcher Rick Wilkins, who stroked a base hit to right center. Snow scored, Lewis moved to third, and the Giants were in front 4-0,
Shortstop Jose Vizcaino was called out on strikes, and Rueter's fly to the Cubs' Sammy Sosa in shallow right retired the side.
In the second, Hamilton beat out a grounder to third for a leadoff infield single but was thrown out trying to steal second. Bonds grounded to short for the second out, and Hill struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the fourth, Bonds drew a leadoff walk. Hill's popup was caught by Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg for out number one, Kent forced Bonds for the second out, then stole second, but Snow struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the sixth with one out and the Giants leading 6-2, Hamilton hit a ball off the top of the wall in right for a triple. Bonds struck out swinging for out number two, but Hill's base hit to center brought Hamilton home to give the Giants a 7-2 lead. Hill then stole second, but Kent's fly to center ended the inning. There was no further scoring.
In the eighth with one out, Hamilton lined a base hit to left. Bonds' fly to deep right was caught by Sosa on the warning track for the second out, and Hamilton was again thrown out while trying to steal second, which ended the inning.
Now let's look at the rest of the game action:
The Giants added to their 4-0 lead with two runs in the bottom of the third. Kent led off by hitting Castillo's 0-1 slider over the right field wall for his thirtieth home run of the year to extend the Frisco lead to 5-0. Snow followed with a lined double to left. Lewis was hit on the back of the leg by a pitch to put two men on, but Wilkins flew to the Cubs' Brian McRae in left for out number one, and shortstop Jose Vizcaino flew to shallow right for out number two. Rueter was next, and he helped his own cause with a single to right center. Snow scored to make it 6-0 Frisco, while Lewis moved to third. The runners were stranded when Hamilton forced Rueter to end the inning.
Rueter no-hit the Cubs through the first four innings. but shortstop Shawon Dunston led off the fifth with a base hit to right. Sandberg's shallow fly to right was caught by his former teammate Hill for out number one, but third baseman Jose Hernandez whacked a double off the wall in left to score Dunston and put the Cubs on the board. He moved to third on catcher Mike Hubbard's bouncer to second, but reliever Ramon Tatis grounded to short to end the inning.
The visitors added another run in the sixth. McRae lined a leadoff double to center. Center fielder Doug Glanville popped to Vizcaino at short for out number one, but first baseman Mark Grace singled to left to bring McRae home and cut the Giants' lead to 6-2. Sosa's bloop single to right center put two men on, but Dunston forced Sosa for out number two. Grace moved to third on the out. but Rueter made a spectacular lunging play on Sandberg's comebacker, then threw to first to retire the side.
Final totals: Giants 7-11-0, Cubs 2-6-1
L- Castillo (6-10)
HR- SF: Kent (30)
DL- Telemaco (0-2)
Rueter was named Player of the Game. He pitched a complete game. giving up two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out seven, He threw 113 pitches. At the plate, he was one for four with an RBI. Honorable mention goes to Hill, who was two for four with a run scored and three runs batted in,
Bonds was one for four plus a walk with a run scored. He's currently batting ,291 (156-536) with forty home runs and 101 runs batted in,
He leads the majors with 146 walks.
He's scored 124 runs, which is good for third in the National League, nineteen behind the Rockies' Larry Walker.
His on-base percentage is still .446. which is good for second place in the National League, six points behind the Rockies' Larry Walker.
His slugging percentage has fallen to .582, which drops him out of a tie for fifth in the National League with the Cardinals' Ray Lankford and the Rockies' Andres Galarraga, He's now in sixth place by himself.
His OPS is 1.028, which is good for third place in the National League, forty-two points behind the Dodgers' Mike Piazza.
He has eighty-five singles. The National League top ten starts at 120.
Next: The Giants visit the Marlins at Pro Player Stadium on Tuesday, June 3. Shawn Estes will start for the Giants, while Alex Fernandez goes to the mound for the Marlins.
Thoughts?
Let's begin by examining Bonds' at-bats:
In the first, center fielder Darryl Hamilton drew a leadoff walk. Bonds' base hit to right moved Hamilton to third, and right fielder Glenallen Hill lined a double into the left center power alley, which scored both Hamilton and Bonds to give the Giants a 2-0 lead. Second baseman Jeff Kent struck out swinging for out number two, but first baseman J..T. Snow walked to keep the inning alive. Third baseman Mark Lewis's bloop fell in shallow right for a base hit that cashed in Hill to give the Giants a 3-0 lead. Next was catcher Rick Wilkins, who stroked a base hit to right center. Snow scored, Lewis moved to third, and the Giants were in front 4-0,
Shortstop Jose Vizcaino was called out on strikes, and Rueter's fly to the Cubs' Sammy Sosa in shallow right retired the side.
In the second, Hamilton beat out a grounder to third for a leadoff infield single but was thrown out trying to steal second. Bonds grounded to short for the second out, and Hill struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the fourth, Bonds drew a leadoff walk. Hill's popup was caught by Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg for out number one, Kent forced Bonds for the second out, then stole second, but Snow struck out swinging to end the inning.
In the sixth with one out and the Giants leading 6-2, Hamilton hit a ball off the top of the wall in right for a triple. Bonds struck out swinging for out number two, but Hill's base hit to center brought Hamilton home to give the Giants a 7-2 lead. Hill then stole second, but Kent's fly to center ended the inning. There was no further scoring.
In the eighth with one out, Hamilton lined a base hit to left. Bonds' fly to deep right was caught by Sosa on the warning track for the second out, and Hamilton was again thrown out while trying to steal second, which ended the inning.
Now let's look at the rest of the game action:
The Giants added to their 4-0 lead with two runs in the bottom of the third. Kent led off by hitting Castillo's 0-1 slider over the right field wall for his thirtieth home run of the year to extend the Frisco lead to 5-0. Snow followed with a lined double to left. Lewis was hit on the back of the leg by a pitch to put two men on, but Wilkins flew to the Cubs' Brian McRae in left for out number one, and shortstop Jose Vizcaino flew to shallow right for out number two. Rueter was next, and he helped his own cause with a single to right center. Snow scored to make it 6-0 Frisco, while Lewis moved to third. The runners were stranded when Hamilton forced Rueter to end the inning.
Rueter no-hit the Cubs through the first four innings. but shortstop Shawon Dunston led off the fifth with a base hit to right. Sandberg's shallow fly to right was caught by his former teammate Hill for out number one, but third baseman Jose Hernandez whacked a double off the wall in left to score Dunston and put the Cubs on the board. He moved to third on catcher Mike Hubbard's bouncer to second, but reliever Ramon Tatis grounded to short to end the inning.
The visitors added another run in the sixth. McRae lined a leadoff double to center. Center fielder Doug Glanville popped to Vizcaino at short for out number one, but first baseman Mark Grace singled to left to bring McRae home and cut the Giants' lead to 6-2. Sosa's bloop single to right center put two men on, but Dunston forced Sosa for out number two. Grace moved to third on the out. but Rueter made a spectacular lunging play on Sandberg's comebacker, then threw to first to retire the side.
Final totals: Giants 7-11-0, Cubs 2-6-1
L- Castillo (6-10)
HR- SF: Kent (30)
DL- Telemaco (0-2)
Rueter was named Player of the Game. He pitched a complete game. giving up two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out seven, He threw 113 pitches. At the plate, he was one for four with an RBI. Honorable mention goes to Hill, who was two for four with a run scored and three runs batted in,
Bonds was one for four plus a walk with a run scored. He's currently batting ,291 (156-536) with forty home runs and 101 runs batted in,
He leads the majors with 146 walks.
He's scored 124 runs, which is good for third in the National League, nineteen behind the Rockies' Larry Walker.
His on-base percentage is still .446. which is good for second place in the National League, six points behind the Rockies' Larry Walker.
His slugging percentage has fallen to .582, which drops him out of a tie for fifth in the National League with the Cardinals' Ray Lankford and the Rockies' Andres Galarraga, He's now in sixth place by himself.
His OPS is 1.028, which is good for third place in the National League, forty-two points behind the Dodgers' Mike Piazza.
He has eighty-five singles. The National League top ten starts at 120.
Next: The Giants visit the Marlins at Pro Player Stadium on Tuesday, June 3. Shawn Estes will start for the Giants, while Alex Fernandez goes to the mound for the Marlins.
Thoughts?
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