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--> --> Bonds hits No. 55 in a pinch MONTREAL (AP) - While Barry Bonds doesn't care much for pinch-hitting, the San Francisco Giants were happy with his latest effort. Bonds hit his major league-leading 55th home run, breaking a ninth-inning tie with a pinch-hit shot to lead the San Francisco Giants over the Montreal Expos 10-5 Thursday night. Entering the game, Bonds was 0-for-3 as a pinch-hitter this season and 10-for-54 for his career. It was his third career pinch-hit homer, with his other two coming against San Francisco in Pittsburgh. ... "I'm not good at it - I stink at it," Bonds said. "There's no doubt about it, I haven't been very successful in that role. I've never been able to figure out how to prepare myself for that role. Tonight it worked out and we got the win, that's the most important thing." Bonds hit his 549th career homer, moving past Mike Schmidt for eighth place on the all-time list. "I'd like to call Mike Schmidt up one day, just to talk to him," Bonds said. "When I was a young player. He was one that talked to me a lot, showed me how to play the game really good, how to stay focused, and I'd like to talk to him one day and say, 'Thank you."' Bonds, out of the starting lineup as manager Dusty Baker gave him a rest, batted for pitcher Felix Rodriguez with one out in the ninth. Lefty Graeme Lloyd (8-4) relieved, and Bonds hit a 3-1 pitch well over the right-field wall. Asked if he hit a slider, Bonds had a one word response: "Mistake." Lloyd agreed. "That pitch right there got what it deserved," Lloyd said. "It was Barry Bonds up there, but you can't throw that pitch in the big leagues, especially in a tie ballgame in the ninth. It's a situation there where you've got to bury the stuff and I'd rather put him on than give that pitch that I did to him. It hung up there for him." It was Bonds' first pinch-hit home run since July 5, 1989. The Expos were the only NL team that Bonds had not homered against this season, and he connected in the Giants' final game versus them. "You'd hate to end the game with him on the bench, so you just try to pick the right spot," Baker said. "Graeme Lloyd is a quality left-hander, but he hits lefties equally to right-handers. We were just hoping that he wouldn't walk Barry in that situation." Indians 9, Athletics 7 Juan Gonzalez had three hits and drove in two runs as Cleveland emerged from a hitting slump against Oakland ace Mark Mulder. After losing the opener on Barry Zito's four-hitter, visiting Cleveland took three straight from the A's, who hadn't lost that many in a row since mid-June. The Indians opened a season-high 6 1/2-game lead over Minnesota in the AL Central. Bonds needs 16 home runs in the Giants' last 35 games to break Mark McGwire's record of 70. After Bonds homered, pinch-hitter Shawon Dunston followed with a home run. Dunston's shot was the Giants' franchise-record 12th pinch-hit homer of the year. Andres Galarraga, who hit two home runs earlier in the game, added an RBI single as the Giants scored three more times in the ninth. Rodriguez (7-1) pitched the eighth, getting Mark Smith to hit into an inning-ending double play with the go-ahead run on third. Galarraga hit his second homer of the game off Britt Reames with one out in the eighth to tie it at 5. He sought out Bonds upon his return to the dugout. "When I hit the second one I said, 'Now you have to come into the game to be the hero', so as soon as he hit it, I felt like it worked," Galarraga said as the Giants moved within 1 1/2 games of NL West-leading Arizona. San Francisco has won 20 of its last 26. Montreal scored four in the fourth off Livan Hernandez to take a 5-1 lead. Vladimir Guerrero hit a leadoff single, and Stevens and Orlando Cabrera walked to load the bases. Smith hit an RBI single and Geoff Blum blooped a two-run double. Tomo Ohka, who singled in the third for his first major league hit, demonstrated a little more skill in his next at-bat to get a bunt down on a suicide squeeze. Calvin Murray hit an RBI single in the fifth and Kent homered leading off the sixth to draw San Francisco to 5-3. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing