Damian Jackson

Barry Bonds made history, but he wanted more to talk about how teammate J.T. Snow came through in the clutch. Bonds hit his major league-leading 56th home run yesterday, becoming the fastest player to ever reach the mark as the visiting San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets, 6-5. Snow hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning as San Francisco averted a four-game sweep at Shea Stadium. "J.T. won the game for us," Bonds said. "Every game is important for us right now. " Bonds also doubled, singled and walked.

Shawn Green hit his 10th home run in seven games to lead host Los Angeles to a 5-3 win over Milwaukee yesterday. "I'm really enjoying the ride right now," Green said. "But I've just got to concentrate on trying to tone it down a little bit so I don't get into bad habits. I've got to focus on hitting line drives and not think about home runs. Those will take care of itself. " Green hit his 13th homer of the season off reliever Jose Cabrera with one out in the seventh. Green, who homered twice last Tuesday, tied the major league record with four homers Thursday in Milwaukee.

Even when the Florida Marlins had two outs, they weren't down. Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Delgado had four RBI apiece, and the visiting Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-6, last night in a game matching the top two teams in the National League East. The Marlins overcame an early 2-0 deficit with a five runs in the third and three more in the seventh - all scoring after the Braves retired the first two hitters of the inning. "When you score with two outs, it makes it easy for you," said Cabrera, who had a three-run homer off reliever Roman Colon.

Figuring they couldn't afford Greg Vaughn beyond this season, the San Diego Padres made another stunning move yesterday by trading him for Reggie Sanders and a couple of Cincinnati Reds minor leaguers. It was a shock to Vaughn, 34, who set a Padres record with 50 homers last season and thought the franchise would retain the nucleus of its National League pennant winner once voters approved funding for a new stadium last November. "We don't understand," Vaughn said during a conference call.

New elbow, same old Kerry Wood. Or close enough, anyway. Pitching in a major league game for the first time in almost 19 months, Wood gave up just one run - a homer - and three hits in six innings last night as the Chicago Cubs routed the visiting Houston Astros, 11-1. "It felt great to get back out there. A little butterflies in the first inning, but I was able to settle down," Wood said. "We've still got a little work to do, but I'm very pleased with the way I threw tonight.

This time, the Phillies went for the soft sell. A year after adopting the feisty Bring It On slogan as their rallying cry, and cringing as the opposition complied 97 times, it was decided something gentler and more mellow was in order. And this is what they came up with: Believe. Do you now? The Phillies beat the San Diego Padres last night at Qualcomm Stadium, 5-3. They have now won six straight, their longest streak since they also went unbeaten for six games in a row from July3 to 12, 1998.

Randy Wolf walked off the mound for the last time and the public-address system began playing a Tom Petty song. Runnin' down a dream . . . How appropriate. Wolf, who called being promoted to the majors last week the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, scattered five hits across eight innings last night at Qualcomm Stadium. He gave up two runs, one of them earned. He raised his record to 2-0 and lowered his earned-run average to 1.32 as the Phillies beat the Padres, 4-2. Wayne Gomes survived a nervous ninth to record his sixth save.

Wearing sunglasses and looking, well, like a rightfielder who was trying to pitch, Derek Bell at least provided comic relief on a day that had quickly turned disastrous for the New York Mets. With the host San Diego Padres leading, 11-1, yesterday, Bell pitched the eighth inning to help save an already burdened bullpen. By the time he walked off the mound, Bell had given up five runs on three hits and four walks, and the Padres won, 16-1. After Joe Vitiello flied out to end the inning, Bell pumped his fist.

Catcher Mike Lieberthal took batting practice, getting some good hacks on a sunny afternoon in an empty stadium. When last night's game started, though, Lieberthal was on the bench. He's on the disabled list, still recovering from a badly sprained left ankle. He's eligible to be activated tomorrow, but probably won't play until the weekend in Colorado. One hitter doesn't make or break a team, of course. Still, there is an impressive amount of evidence piling up about how much the Phillies miss Lieberthal.

Barry Larkin's first grand slam was a long time coming. Larkin broke in with the Reds in 1986 and led all active major league players in at-bats without a slam at 6,734 before connecting against Al Leiter to help host Cincinnati beat the New York Mets last night, 9-5. "I hit a ball off the wall in San Francisco a few years ago, and I hit a ball off the wall in Pittsburgh last week," Larkin said. "I just happened to get some elevation on that one. " Leiter, who had one of the worst nights of his career, took the slam with grace.

Even when the Florida Marlins had two outs, they weren't down. Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Delgado had four RBI apiece, and the visiting Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-6, last night in a game matching the top two teams in the National League East. The Marlins overcame an early 2-0 deficit with a five runs in the third and three more in the seventh - all scoring after the Braves retired the first two hitters of the inning. "When you score with two outs, it makes it easy for you," said Cabrera, who had a three-run homer off reliever Roman Colon.

Shawn Green hit his 10th home run in seven games to lead host Los Angeles to a 5-3 win over Milwaukee yesterday. "I'm really enjoying the ride right now," Green said. "But I've just got to concentrate on trying to tone it down a little bit so I don't get into bad habits. I've got to focus on hitting line drives and not think about home runs. Those will take care of itself. " Green hit his 13th homer of the season off reliever Jose Cabrera with one out in the seventh. Green, who homered twice last Tuesday, tied the major league record with four homers Thursday in Milwaukee.

Barry Bonds made history, but he wanted more to talk about how teammate J.T. Snow came through in the clutch. Bonds hit his major league-leading 56th home run yesterday, becoming the fastest player to ever reach the mark as the visiting San Francisco Giants beat the New York Mets, 6-5. Snow hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning as San Francisco averted a four-game sweep at Shea Stadium. "J.T. won the game for us," Bonds said. "Every game is important for us right now. " Bonds also doubled, singled and walked.

The Phillies' enchanted march through the month of April encountered a bump in the road yesterday at Qualcomm Stadium. Or was that an 18-wheeler that ran down Robert Person and his first-place teammates? After winning six straight games and giving themselves an early-season cushion in the National League East, the Phillies received their worst beating of the season, leaving town following an 11-0 loss to the struggling San Diego Padres. Pin the blame on Person, who had by far his worst outing ever in a Phillies uniform.

This time, the Phillies went for the soft sell. A year after adopting the feisty Bring It On slogan as their rallying cry, and cringing as the opposition complied 97 times, it was decided something gentler and more mellow was in order. And this is what they came up with: Believe. Do you now? The Phillies beat the San Diego Padres last night at Qualcomm Stadium, 5-3. They have now won six straight, their longest streak since they also went unbeaten for six games in a row from July3 to 12, 1998.

Barry Larkin's first grand slam was a long time coming. Larkin broke in with the Reds in 1986 and led all active major league players in at-bats without a slam at 6,734 before connecting against Al Leiter to help host Cincinnati beat the New York Mets last night, 9-5. "I hit a ball off the wall in San Francisco a few years ago, and I hit a ball off the wall in Pittsburgh last week," Larkin said. "I just happened to get some elevation on that one. " Leiter, who had one of the worst nights of his career, took the slam with grace.

Wearing sunglasses and looking, well, like a rightfielder who was trying to pitch, Derek Bell at least provided comic relief on a day that had quickly turned disastrous for the New York Mets. With the host San Diego Padres leading, 11-1, yesterday, Bell pitched the eighth inning to help save an already burdened bullpen. By the time he walked off the mound, Bell had given up five runs on three hits and four walks, and the Padres won, 16-1. After Joe Vitiello flied out to end the inning, Bell pumped his fist.

Catcher Mike Lieberthal took batting practice, getting some good hacks on a sunny afternoon in an empty stadium. When last night's game started, though, Lieberthal was on the bench. He's on the disabled list, still recovering from a badly sprained left ankle. He's eligible to be activated tomorrow, but probably won't play until the weekend in Colorado. One hitter doesn't make or break a team, of course. Still, there is an impressive amount of evidence piling up about how much the Phillies miss Lieberthal.

New elbow, same old Kerry Wood. Or close enough, anyway. Pitching in a major league game for the first time in almost 19 months, Wood gave up just one run - a homer - and three hits in six innings last night as the Chicago Cubs routed the visiting Houston Astros, 11-1. "It felt great to get back out there. A little butterflies in the first inning, but I was able to settle down," Wood said. "We've still got a little work to do, but I'm very pleased with the way I threw tonight.

Randy Wolf walked off the mound for the last time and the public-address system began playing a Tom Petty song. Runnin' down a dream . . . How appropriate. Wolf, who called being promoted to the majors last week the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, scattered five hits across eight innings last night at Qualcomm Stadium. He gave up two runs, one of them earned. He raised his record to 2-0 and lowered his earned-run average to 1.32 as the Phillies beat the Padres, 4-2. Wayne Gomes survived a nervous ninth to record his sixth save.