MILWAUKEE - Barry Bonds beat the Brewers not with a mighty swing, although he had plenty of opportunities for a change, but with his arm.
The Giants slugger, who will have to wait at least another day to join the 700-homer club, flashed the kind of play that made him an eight-time Gold Glove winner early in his career, helping San Francisco beat Milwaukee 3-2 Tuesday night.
Bonds went 0-for-2 and drew two walks, one intentional and the other on a nine-pitch at-bat. He kept the Giants ahead in the sixth when he fielded Brady Clark's single to left and threw out Bill Hall, who was trying to score from second, on a one-hopper to the plate.
"That's why he's the greatest player of all time," Brewers third-base coach Rich Donnelly said. "He's not just a great home run hitter."
"He's a complete player," Milwaukee manager Ned Yost said. "And it doesn't surprise us that he's a very capable leftfielder."
Before the game, Yost said he wouldn't pitch around Bonds just to keep him from joining Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth in the 700-homer club.
Bonds worked counts full his first two times up, popping out to shortstop in the first on a curve and walking in the fourth. With the score tied at 2 and a man on second in the fifth, Bonds was intentionally walked, drawing boos from the crowd of 27,209. Fans packed the rightfield bleachers while leaving some of the best seats empty.
Edgardo Alfonzo promptly lined a pitch from Doug Davis to left for a run-scoring single that made it 3-2.
"Guys that have been hitting behind Barry all year have been put in that situation and sooner or later, it's going to come back to haunt the opposition, which it did," teammate Ray Durham said. "You can't just keep putting him on."
Bonds has walked a record 205 times this season, 105 times intentionally.
Bonds sent a hard ground ball to rightfield in the eighth, but second baseman Keith Ginter was shifted perfectly and threw out Bonds by a half-step. Droves of fans began heading to the exits.
"He went 0-for-2, but he still won that game," Davis said. "Bottom line."
San Francisco remained a half-game ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL wild-card race.
