The Associated Press

What a day! Barry Bonds tied Mark McGwire, Rickey Henderson passed Ty Cobb and the Atlanta Braves clinched a tie for their record 10th straight division title.

Friday, October 05, 2001

What a day! Barry Bonds tied Mark McGwire, Rickey Henderson passed Ty Cobb and the Atlanta Braves clinched a tie for their record 10th straight division title.

Bonds capped off one of the most memorable days in baseball by hitting his 70th homer, tying McGwire’s single-season mark, in the San Francisco Giants’ 10-2 win at Houston on Thursday night.

”It was electrifying,” he said.

Earlier, Henderson punctuated the career runs record by sliding into home plate – after a home run – in San Diego’s 6-3 win over Los Angeles.

”When I knew it was out, so much joy came to me that it was finally over with and I had broken the record,” Henderson said after scoring No. 2,246.

While Bonds and Henderson provided momentous individual achievements, the Braves moved within one game of a remarkable team record.

Chipper Jones drove in a pair of runs in a three-run first inning, and Brian Jordan added a two-run homer in the seventh as Atlanta beat Philadelphia 6-2 to clinch a tie for the NL East title.

”The Braves did what they had to do,” Phillies manager Larry Bowa said. ”They don’t have all those banners up there for nothing. We’re on a respirator right now.”

In other NL games, it was Arizona 5, Colorado 4; St. Louis 10, Milwaukee 3; Chicago 2, Cincinnati 0 in a game reduced to seven innings by rain; and Florida 6, Montreal 2.

Giants 10, Astros 2

Bonds got three more walks – giving him a record 175 for the season – before connecting in the ninth inning off Wilfredo Rodriguez for the record-tying homer.

”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.”

Houston lost its sixth straight and eighth in nine games. The Astros, who could have clinched a playoff spot with a win, dropped one game behind St. Louis in the NL Central.

The Giants remained two games behind Arizona in the NL West. Bonds, who has one homer in 97 postseason at-bats, wants another shot at the playoffs.

”This is just the season. I haven’t done it in the playoffs,” he said. ”I’ve done it in the season. I want to get to the playoffs.”

Jeff Kent homered in the first inning after Dave Mlicki (7-3) walked Bonds with two outs. Russ Ortiz (17-9) allowed one run in six innings to get the win.

Padres 6, Dodgers 3

Henderson homered off the top of the left-field fence in San Diego with one out in the third inning off Luke Prokopec (8-7).

Henderson clapped his hands and pumped his right fist as he rounded first following his 2,998th career hit.

As he came around third with a big smile on his face, he motioned with his left hand for his teammates to leave enough room for the slide. He popped up and was mobbed.

”Sliding into home plate was really a treat for my teammates,” Henderson said. ”I think they were expecting me to go head first into home plate but I told them I hate sliding into home plate head first, so I eventually went feet first.”

Jason Middlebrook (2-1) got the win, his first major league hit and RBI.

Braves 6, Phillies 2

The Braves increased their lead over the Phillies to three games with three left – all at home against Florida. Philadelphia closes the regular season with three games at Cincinnati.

Jones, who had only one RBI in his previous 15 games, hit a two-run double off rookie Brandon Duckworth (3-2) in the first inning at Turner Field.

”It was big for the ballclub, but bigger for me from a confidence standpoint,” Jones said. I hadn’t gotten a big hit like that in a long time.”

B.J. Surhoff added an RBI single for a 3-1 lead, enough for John Burkett (12-12) and four Braves relievers.

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 4

Reggie Sanders homered against Colorado for the 10th time this season as Arizona nudged closer to the NL West title.

The Diamondbacks concluded their home schedule with a three-game sweep of Colorado and have won seven of eight.

Brian Anderson (4-9) got his first victory since July 22. Byung-Hyun Kim pitched the ninth for his 19th save.

Cardinals 10, Brewers 3

Matt Morris (22-8) became the first St. Louis pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1970 to win 22 games as the visiting Cardinals beat Milwaukee behind Mark McGwire’s five RBIs.

McGwire hit his 29th homer, a three-run shot off Rocky Coppinger in the sixth, as St. Louis moved into first place heading into a three-game weekend series against Houston.

Hall of Famer Rod Carew announced he will resign as Milwaukee’s hitting instructor at the end of the season.

Cubs 2, Reds 0

Todd Hundley hit a two-run homer off Jose Acevedo (5-7) in the seventh inning as Chicago beat Cincinnati in a game shortened by rain at Wrigley Field.

Todd Van Poppel (4-1) pitched one inning in relief of starter Kerry Wood, who allowed five hits and struck out 10 in six innings.

Marlins 6, Expos 2

Derrek Lee hit a three-run double off Masato Yoshii (4-7), and Kevin Millar drove in two runs as Florida beat Montreal.

Brad Penny (10-10) allowed four hits in six innings for Florida, which won its final home game.