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--> --> Santiago singles home game-winner to lead Giants SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Ahead 2-0 in the count, Benito Santiago knew what was coming. The Reds and Giants were tied 5-all in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday, and Luis Pineda had just walked J.T. Snow and Reggie Sanders. "I figured he was going to come right down the center of the plate," Santiago said. "And he did." Santiago singled home the winning run as San Francisco beat Cincinnati 6-5 for a three-game sweep. The Giants, who trailed 5-3 going into the eighth inning, have won four straight overall and six of their last seven after dropping a season-high four straight. "We're winning at home," Santiago said. "We've got to get on the road now and win some games." The Giants, at 19-11 a half-game behind first-place Arizona in the NL West, head to New York for a three-game series with the Mets starting Tuesday. J.T. Snow had narrowed it to 5-4 with an RBI single in the eighth off Danny Graves, who had converted nine straight save chances. With one out in the ninth, Ramon Martinez, pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia and David Bell all hit consecutive singles to tie it. Graves struck out Marvin Benard, then loaded the bases with an intentional walk to Barry Bonds, who earlier homered for the second straight day. Jeff Kent grounded out, sending the game into extra innings. It was the third blown save for Graves in 13 chances. After Robb Nen (2-0) pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 10th, Pineda (0-3) came in for the bottom half and gave up the game-winning single to Santiago. In fact, Santiago was supposed to bunt at first, and didn't notice that the sign had been taken off after the first pitch. After the second he got the message. "I was looking to make contact - just make contact," he said. Reds starter Chris Reitsma, who left with a 5-3 lead, was philosophical. "Our bullpen is outstanding. Everyone knows it's the best in the league," he said. "It's one of those things that probably won't happen again for a long time." Bonds, who hit a record 73 home runs last season, homered off Reitsma in the sixth. It was the NL MVP's second homer in as many days and 10th this season. Bonds' homer in the sixth inning was his 577th, and he watched as it sailed into the seats at the top of the right-field wall. On Saturday, Bonds became the fourth player to hit 400 home runs for the Giants, joining Willie Mays, Mel Ott and Willie McCovey. It ended a homerless streak of 33 at-bats since April 17. Giants starter Livan Hernandez allowed five runs - four earned - and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. Reitsma (2-0) gave up three runs and four hits in six innings. Cincinnati took a 2-0 lead in the second when Aaron Boone hit an RBI grounder, stole both second and third and scored on Corky Miller's single. Coming in, the Reds had scored just one run in the previous 25 innings. Juan Encarnacion tripled and scored on Austin Kearns' sacrifice fly in the third inning and hit his team-leading eighth homer to make it 4-0 in the fifth. San Francisco cut the deficit in half in the bottom half after a throwing error by Boone at third when Santiago hit a run-scoring single and scored on Bell's sacrifice fly. Encarnacion had an RBI single for a 5-3 lead in the seventh. It was the Reds' fourth straight loss. They returned to Cincinnati 2-4 on their latest road trip. "I'd love to come to the West Coast and at least split," Reds manager Bob Boone said. "Certainly, this was ours for the taking." Notes: Reds SS Barry Larkin left after seven innings because of tightness in his right hamstring. ... Mays celebrates his 71st birthday Monday. ... Giants starter Jason Schmidt, who left Saturday's game early with a shoulder injury, underwent an MRI exam showing slight inflammation in the rotator cuff. He'll throw out of the bullpen at Shea Stadium on Tuesday to determine whether he'll make his next scheduled start, team trainer Stan Conte said. ... OF Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who has a right thigh strain, was not in the Giants' lineup Sunday but he was available to play. ... Cincinnati 1B Sean Casey had gone 1-for-20 until his single in the fifth. ... The Giants (19-11) are off to their best 30-game start since 1997. 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