Reds' Arroyo Shuts Down Bonds

Bronson Arroyo kept Barry Bonds four home runs shy of Hank Aaron's record and moved within 752 himself. <br/><br/>The Cincinnati Reds right-hander allowed three runs and seven hits _ none a home run

Friday, July 6th 2007, 7:41 am

By: News On 6

Bronson Arroyo kept Barry Bonds four home runs shy of Hank Aaron's record and moved within 752 himself.

The Cincinnati Reds right-hander allowed three runs and seven hits _ none a home run by Bonds _ in 6 2-3 innings and went deep for the third time in his career in a 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night.

``I'll be surprised with every home run I hit, if I hit anymore,'' Arroyo said.

Bonds stayed at 751 homers. He went 1-for-3 with a single against Arroyo (3-9).

``It was fun,'' Arroyo said. ``I don't think I want to see him up there five or six times a game, but under the circumstances _ having a lead, really not being in a super pressure situation _ it was fun.''

The crowd of 30,080 gave rookie reliever Jon Coutlangus a standing ovation after he got Bonds on a called third strike to end the eighth inning.

``Actually, I wasn't thinking anything,'' Coutlangus said. ``I appreciated the cheers. I was trying not to smile and show too much emotion.''

In other NL games on Thursday, it was: Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 3; Florida 3, San Diego 2; Chicago 4, Washington 2; St. Louis 3, Arizona 2; New York 6, Houston 2; and Atlanta 8, Los Angeles 6.

Arroyo hit his third homer off Matt Morris (7-5) in the second inning, a solo shot with two outs that helped him end the longest pitching slump of his career. The right-hander hadn't won since May 6, going 0-7 in his last 10 tries.

``You take your chances there,'' said Morris, who gave up six runs in six innings. ``You don't want to be too careful. He's not the best hitter on that team, but he was able to catch one that was right there for him.''

Arroyo has now homered off two pitchers, connecting twice last season off Glendon Rusch of the Cubs. Bonds holds the major league record, having homered off 442 pitchers.

Ken Griffey Jr. doubled home two runs, and Josh Hamilton also homered for the Reds, who took two of three for their first winning series in nearly a month.

``We have to build some momentum and get that winning feeling,'' said interim manager Pete Mackanin, who took over before the series. ``There's a lot of talent on this team. What I need to introduce to this team is a new personality _ something to get us going.''

David Weathers pitched the ninth for his 16th save.

Pirates 6, Brewers 3

Adam LaRoche homered twice and Tom Gorzelanny (9-4) allowed three runs and five hits over seven innings for host Pittsburgh.

LaRoche hit a two-run homer in the third and a solo homer in the seventh. He also doubled ahead of Xavier Nady's RBI single in the fifth. LaRoche is 16-for-32 with five doubles, five homers and 11 RBIs in his last eight games.

Geoff Jenkins hit a two-run homer for the Brewers, who have lost three straight.

Marlins 3, Padres 2

Byung-Hyun Kim and four relievers combined on a three-hitter as the right-hander earned his first victory since May 28 and visiting Florida earned a split of the four-game series with the NL West leaders.

Jeremy Hermida homered and doubled and Matt Treanor had a two-run single to back Kim (4-4), who allowed two runs and three hits in 6 1-3 innings.

Jake Peavy (9-3) gave up three runs and five hits in seven innings for San Diego.

Cubs 4, Nationals 2

Mike Fontenot broke out of an 0-for-16 skid with three hits, including the tie-breaking single in the top of the seventh inning, and Daryle Ward added two hits and two RBIs for Chicago, which has won 11 of 13 and has a major league-best 21-10 record since June 3. Will Ohman (1-4), the second of five Chicago pitchers, went 2-3 of an inning for the win.

Dmitri Young tripled to spark Washington's two-run rally in the sixth.

Cardinals 3, Diamondbacks 2

Adam Wainwright (7-7) carried a five-hit shutout into the eighth inning and Juan Encarnacion hit a three-run homer for St. Louis, which turned four inning-ending double plays, including one to end the game with the bases loaded as Jason Isringhausen earned his 17th save.

Doug Davis (5-10) gave up three runs and seven hits in seven innings for visiting Arizona. He walked five, giving him a major-league leading 59, and struck out four.

Mets 6, Astros 2

John Maine (10-4) struck out a career-high nine in 7 2-3 innings to win his fourth straight start and Ramon Castro, who was filling in for the suspended Paul Lo Duca, had a two-run double for the visiting Mets, who were swept in a three games at Colorado.

Jason Jennings (1-4) gave up five runs and nine hits in six innings in dropping his third straight decision.

Braves 8, Dodgers 6

Chipper Jones homered from each side of the plate and Jeff Francoeur also homered for visiting Atlanta, which split the four-game series and stayed three games behind first-place New York in the NL East.

Jones homered in the sixth to break a 6-6 tie and then added another leading off the eighth. Jones' homers from both sides came exactly seven years to the day of his last such two-homer game, against the Montreal Expos. He has accomplished the lefty-righty feat six times in his career.

Brad Penny, who entered the game with a major league-best 2.00 ERA and was trying to become the first Dodger to begin a season 11-1 since Doug Rau in 1977, tied a career high with three RBIs. But he gave up six runs and nine hits over four innings.