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--> --> Giants win; Bonds is silent ST. LOUIS (AP) - Mark McGwire got the home run and Barry Bonds got the win. McGwire hit a two-run homer and St. Louis pitched around Bonds as the Cardinals lost 10-5 to the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. Bonds, challenging McGwire's record of 70 homers in 1998, went 0-for-2 with three walks, one intentional. He remained at 38 homers - a record for before the All-Star break with 15 games to spare. "They pitched Barry carefully and we pitched Big Mac carefully," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "We just got one over the plate and he lost it. "I imagine it's going to happen quite a bit." Bonds did not talk to reporters after the game. He had a lengthy interview session several hours before the game. McGwire spoke briefly after spending about an hour in the trainer's room. He appeared surprised that a few reporters were waiting to talk with him about the buildup surrounding Bonds' first game against the Cardinals. "Hey, it had nothing to do with me," McGwire said. Armando Rios hit his third career grand slam in a six-run fourth and Livan Hernandez (7-9) pitched a seven-hitter as the Giants won for the ninth time in 10 games. McGwire hit his seventh homer with two outs in the eighth and was 2-for-3, also drawing a walk. Jim Edmonds homered twice and drove in three runs for the Cardinals, who have lost three straight. Hernandez has given up five homers to McGwire, tied for third-highest on Big Mac's hit list. That includes a 545-foot shot in 1998. "Sometime when the game's 9-2 or 9-3, it's hard for the pitcher to concentrate," Hernandez said. "You want to throw strikes and he hit one out. "I'm not complaining because he hits a home run off everybody." McGwire said he wasn't aware of his history against Hernandez. "I just go up there," McGwire said. "I'm really simple like that." Bonds saw only two strikes his first three at-bats, drawing a pair of five-pitch walks and a four-pitch intentional walk after the count went to 3-0. He scored the first two times as the Giants chased Dustin Hermanson (6-6) in the third. Bonds also grounded into a double play and struck out. "He was leaving a lot of things up today, and I guess he was trying not to walk me and just left the pitch up," Rios said. "I hit it pretty good." McGwire, who had 37 homers at the break en route to his record 70 in 1998, said before the game that he was impressed with Bonds' achievements but that the second half of the season would be the true test. Jeff Kent added a bases-loaded walk in the second and Rich Aurilia drove in a run with the bases loaded as third baseman Albert Pujols dropped the ball before attempting to start an inning-ending double play. Hernandez has won three of his last four starts and threw his first complete game since last Sept. 19, against Cincinnati. He struck out three and walked three. Edmonds hit a solo homer in the first and a two-run shot in the sixth, giving him 12 on the year. "We really needed him to pick it up," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "Now we've got to get a few other guys hot." Hermanson lasted 2 2-3 innings, tied for the second-shortest outing on the Cardinals this year. He gave up eight runs - seven earned - and seven hits. He is 1-5 his last six starts with a 9.32 ERA. "Actually, I felt good tonight," Hermanson said. "I just didn't do the job." Aurilia added an RBI double in the eighth and Benito Santiago homered in the ninth for the Giants. Long jumper Mike Powell strains for distance during the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene Friday. AP Photo. 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