HOUSTON – With one last swing, Barry Bonds put an end to his Houston walkathon and put himself in the record book.
Bonds finally saw a meaty pitch and sent home run No. 70 sailing into the right-field upper deck Thursday night, tying the record Mark McGwire thought might last a lifetime when he did it a mere three years ago.
``It was electrifying,'' Bonds said.
Frustrated after drawing eight walks and being hit by a pitch in three days at Enron Field, Bonds broke into a big smile and slow trot after leading off the ninth inning with a 454-foot shot against rookie Wilfredo Rodriguez.
``I was happy I made contact. It's hard to just take pitches all the time,'' he said. ``You really don't have an opportunity to swing.''
Bonds, son of an All-Star and godson of a home run king, has three games left to make history all his own.
The San Francisco Giants, who beat the Astros 10-2 to stay in the NL West chase, start a series against Los Angeles at home on Friday night.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox