Barry Bonds, the Pirates` slumping slugger, didn`t knock out four hitsSunday night as Pittsburgh manager Jim Leyland had predicted. Bonds got only two hits, scored two runs, drove in a run and stole a base-all in the first three innings.
But there was more and this was crucial: In the fourth inning, after the Atlanta Braves had reached Bob Walk for the first of their three hits, left-fielder Bonds jumped on his bicycle and made the catch of the game-a running, backhanded stab at Ron Gant`s drive in left-center.
”The hits were fine,” Leyland said after the game. ”But the catch was unbelievable. From my angle, there was no way he was going to catch it. It was a bullet.”
Bonds had two hits in five trips, lifting his playoff average 97 points, from .091 to .188, which still is considerably below his .274 lifetime average. But these are mere numbers.
For the first time in this best-of-seven series, Bonds was a genuine force.
He doubled in a run in the Pirates` decisive four-run first-inning rally- which chased Steve Avery, the Atlanta pitching star-and lined a single to right-center and scored again in the fifth to increase Pittsburgh`s lead to 5-0.
Except for Bonds` fourth-inning catch, he did nothing sensational after that. But there was no need because Walk, who had pitched only one complete game in 21 regular-season starts, went the distance and didn`t lose his shutout until the eighth.
”It`s good to have Barry back,” said outfielder Lloyd McClendon, a former Cub who also had a big night with two singles, a double and a sacrifice fly.
”Barry`s not going to win it or lose it for us,” McClendon said. ”But it`s very important for us when he`s swinging the bat.”
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Leyland also was delighted with Bonds` performance, but refused to single him out.
”I was happy for a lot of our guys,” Leyland said. ”We needed that.”
More than likely, Leyland helped Bonds get going. Before the game, the Pittsburgh manager said he wouldn`t be surprised if Bonds had four hits. Leyland also acknowledged he had a one-on-one conversation with Bonds after Saturday`s fourth game, which the Pirates lost 6-4. Bonds struck out, lunging, in his last two appearances in that game.
”It was almost like father and son,” Leyland said. ”We`ve been together a lot of years.”
Leyland refused to reveal any of the dialogue but said: ”There was absolutely nothing negative. Barry feels bad. He feels he`s let me down and he`s let the club down. I told him: `Barry, no one person is responsible. When we won our division, we won as an organization. Win or lose, everyone is responsible.` ”
Bobby Bonilla, Bonds` former teammate who became a free agent after the 1991 season and jumped to the Mets, also is a member of Bonds` support group. After he had talked to Leyland, Bonds telephoned Bonilla. It was another two-hour chat. Bonilla told him to hang tough and that he would fly in for Sunday`s game, which he did.
Asked about his talk with Leyland, Bonds said: ”There have been two major coaches that I`ve admired. One was in Little League and he passed away before I finished that. Jim Leyland, to me, is the best manager I`ve ever played for and best friend and best person a younger person could look up to.”
Leyland said he talked with Bonds because it was apparent Bonds was concerned about his future. Bonds can become a free agent two weeks after the the World Series and is expecting, at minimum, a five-year contract worth in excess of $30 million.
”We talked, and it was a great conversation,” said Leyland. ”He`s a very sensitive guy. Naturally, he`s concerned. He doesn`t know if this will be his last game with the Pittsburgh Pirates.”
It could have been Bonds` farewell if the Pirates had lostSunday. The playoffs now return to Atlanta for Game 6 and then a seventh, if necessary. The Pirates, down 3-2 in the series, must take both games to win the pennant and advance to the World Series.
Asked if he believed his team could win both games, Leyland said: ”I don`t know if I`m confident or non-confident. But I know we`ll be in Atlanta Tuesday night.”
Win or lose, Leyland said: ”Nobody owes anybody an apology. You`re entitled to an explanation, but only an explanation, not an apology.
”Only one team will have a great year. That`s the one who wins the World Series. Some of the other clubs will have had good years, but only one will have a great year.”
Sunday`s victory kept the Pirates` hopes alive for a great season. Since the NL went to a seven-game format in 1985, no team has come back from a 3-1 deficit. Two American League teams have come back, Kansas City over Toronto in `85 and Boston over California in `86.