SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds threw himself quite a birthday bash.
Bonds led off the bottom of the ninth with his 646th career homer moments after making a spectacular, run-saving throw to give the Giants their eighth straight win, 3-2 over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.
Playing on his 39th birthday, the star leftfielder threw out Craig Counsell at the plate in the ninth, sending fans at Pacific Bell Park into a frenzy.
Then it got more crazy. Bonds followed with his major league-leading 33rd homer, giving him a San Francisco record 470 to pass Willie McCovey (469).
The crowd of 42,666 remained standing for several minutes, chanting "Barry! Barry!" and Bonds stepped out of the dugout and waved.
It was Bonds' seventh career game-ending homer, but he didn't stick around to celebrate. He rushed off to a hospital to visit his father, Bobby, who has lung cancer.
"My dad's in the hospital right now and I've got to go," Bonds said.
Mike Myers allowed the homer to left-center on his first pitch. Bonds entered the at-bat with two extra-base hits and two RBIs in 31 plate appearances against Myers.
Ray Durham homered twice and doubled as the Giants moved 11 games ahead of the second-place Diamondbacks in the NL West. Arizona lost its sixth straight and dropped its ninth in a row at Pac Bell, falling to 0-6 at the park this season.
"When you're in a haunted house, that's the way things are," Arizona's Mark Grace said.
Durham was asked if he ever has had this much fun.
"I did win 20 games with Oakland," he said, smiling and shaking his head in delight as he recalled the A's amazing streak in 2002.
"Every time we go on the field we definitely have a chance to win," he said. "That's the way we're thinking right now. We enjoy coming to the ballpark. It's fun."
The Giants posted consecutive four-game sweeps for the first time since 1994, when they beat Philadelphia from July 7-10 and Montreal from July 14-17 after the All-Star break. It's the fourth time they've done it since moving to San Francisco in 1958.
After Arizona's Junior Spivey hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth, Durham tied it in the bottom half with his second homer of the game.
Tim Worrell got two outs for the win. The Giants are undefeated in their 11-game homestand to start the second half.
Bonds needs 14 homers to tie his godfather, Willie Mays, for third all-time. Only Babe Ruth (714) and Bonds' hero, Hank Aaron (755), have hit more.
"In spring training after watching him for a month and a half I was already in awe," Durham said. "What he's doing now, he's in a league of his own."
Arizona led off the ninth with back-to-back singles against Felix Rodriguez. After Jason Christiansen came on and struck out Luis Gonzalez, Worrell entered.
Shea Hillenbrand singled to left, but Bonds made a fantastic throw home to catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who tagged Counsell just in time. Steve Finley then popped out to end the inning.
"It was a great play by probably the best player I've ever seen," Counsell said.
