The San Francisco Giants have won 83 games this season - by as many as 15 runs and as few as one.
It is doubtful that any of the previous 82 victories got the Giants as excited as Sunday's 7-6 triumph over the Florida Marlins.Robby Thompson hit a two-out, two-run homer off Florida relief ace Bryan Harvey to complete a comeback from a 6-2, eighth-inning deficit. Teammate Barry Bonds almost made it the last home run Thompson would hit.
Thompson jumped in the air when the ball left his bat, circled the bases and was nearly ripped in half with a monster hug at home plate by Bonds.
"Barry almost killed me," Thompson said.
"That dude got me fired up right there," Bonds said.
The Giants' lead in the NL West remained at 7 1/2 games after Atlanta defeated Chicago 4-3. The Braves and Giants start a three-game series tonight at Candlestick Park.
The Giants were down to their last out - with fans streaming to the exits - when Dave Martinez drew a walk and stole second off Harvey (1-4), who blew his fourth save in 41 opportunities.
Harvey ran the count to 1-2 on Thompson with three forkballs. He threw another forkball and Thompson sent it 400 feet into the left-field bleachers.
San Francisco's John Burkett failed in his second straight bid to become the NL's first 19-game winner. He gave up five runs and 10 hits in 62/3 innings.
Expos 7, Reds 2
Sean Berry hit two homers, one inside the park, and drove in six runs as Montreal completed its first winning road trip of the season.
Dennis Martinez (11-8) gave up five hits over seven innings, to win for the first time since July 8. He had been 0-3 in seven starts since the All-Star game.
Berry turned a soft liner into a three-run inside-the-park homer in the fourth, added a two-run homer off starter Bobby Ayala (5-6) in the sixth and completed the best day of his career with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Dodgers 3, Cardinals 0
Ramon Martinez won for the first time in more than a month and Eric Davis homered as visiting Los Angeles finished a three-game sweep.
Martinez (9-8) struck out six, including fifth-place hitter Ray Lankford four times, and walked two in his third shutout and fourth complete game. He had been 1-4 in six starts since the All-Star break despite a 2.63 ERA.
Astros 7, Phillies 3
Jeff Bagwell and Eric Anthony hit consecutive home runs in the first inning and Darryl Kile won his third straight outing and for the eighth time in 10 decisions at home.
Kile (14-4) allowed six hits in 7 2/3 innings and struck out eight.
Bagwell hit his career-high 20th homer with two outs in the first against Ben Rivera (11-7), and Anthony followed with his 15th of the season.
Rockies 4, Mets 3
Freddie Benavides broke a 3-3 tie with a solo home run in the seventh inning, lifting Colorado to a three-game sweep, the Rockies' fourth series sweep of the season, in front of 70,064 fans at Mile High Stadium.
Mike Munoz (1-0), who joined the Rockies from Class AAA Colorado Springs earlier in the day, pitched two-thirds of an inning for the victory.
Benavides opened the seventh with a 421-foot homer, his third of the season and the Rockies' third 400-plus foot homer against Sid Fernandez (2-4).
Pirates 10, Padres 5
Orlando Merced hit a three-run homer and Dave Clark added a two-run shot during visiting Pittsburgh's seven-run fourth inning as the Pirates sent San Diego to its seventh straight loss, the Padres' longest skid since 1990.
Braves 4, Cubs 3
Jeff Blauser's two-run homer off Jose Guzman (11-8) triggered a four-run fifth inning and John Smoltz (13-9) settled down after a shaky start to lead visiting Atlanta.
Guzman blanked the Braves and Smoltz 1-0 on April 6 when Otis Nixon spoiled his no-hit bid with a two-out single in the ninth. Guzman ran his scoreless string to 13 innings and held a 3-0 lead before the Braves caught up to him in the fifth.