LOS ANGELES -- Barry Bonds says winning is the only thing on his mind these days.
Not home runs, just victories.
So he was in a good mood after scoring the go-ahead run in the San Francisco Giants' 6-4 come-from behind triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.
“We needed that win, that's the only important thing right now,” said Bonds, who remained stuck at 67 homers, but reached base four times. “How many games are left, nine? We've got to win 'em all, that's the bottom line.”
Bonds went 1-for-2 with three walks, the third of which came in the ninth and tied Mark Mcgwire 's 1998 NL record of 162. Babe Ruth set the major league mark of 170 in 1923.
“Arizona won, so we had to win,” said Bonds, who has nine games left to break Ruth's mark for walks as well as McGwire's big league record of 70 home runs, also set three years ago.
The Giants trail the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, 15-9 winners over Milwaukee on Wednesday night, by 1 1/2 games, while the Dodgers, playing their final home game, fell 4 1/2 games off the pace.
San Francisco is three games behind St. Louis in the wild card race.
John Vander Wal 's two-out, two-run single capped the Giants' three-run rally in the ninth off Dodgers closer Jeff Shaw .
Robb Nen pitched the bottom of the inning for his NL-leading 42nd save in 49 chances, retiring Adrian Beltre on a long fly to right with two runners on base to end the game.
Rich Aurilia doubled to start the winning rally, and Bonds walked on a full-count pitch. Jeff Kent grounded out, with the runners moving up, before Edwards Guzman was walked intentionally to load the bases.
Benito Santiago hit a game-tying sacrifice fly before left-hander Jesse Orosco relieved Shaw. The left handed-hitting Vander Wal blooped the first pitch to center, driving in Bonds and Guzman.
Vander Wal, acquired by the Giants from Pittsburgh two months ago, said the only other hit he's had of this magnitude was a two-run homer he hit off Atlanta's John Smoltz in the 1998 NL championship series while playing for San Diego.
“This rates a close second,” he said. “This was a huge game. We knew Arizona was winning big, (Randy Johnson ) pitches for them tomorrow, and we don't play. We couldn't afford to go three games back with nine to play.”
The Dodgers took a 4-3 lead in the eighth on Eric Karros ' sacrifice fly off Felix Rodriguez (9-1). The Giants had tied it in the top half on J.T. Snow's RBI single off Matt Herges .
“Every one now is our biggest win of the year,” Giants manager Dusty Baker said. “It was our biggest comeback against a quality guy.”
The blown save was the ninth in 48 chances for Shaw (3-5).
“We just haven't been able to get anything going,” Karros said in a somber Dodgers' clubhouse. “We've dug ourselves a tremendous hole.”
The Dodgers begin a three-game series at Arizona on Friday night before finishing with three-game series at San Diego and San Francisco.
“If we sweep Arizona, we've still got a shot,” Paul Lo Duca said.
Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green , who has a franchise-record 48 homers and 119 RBIs, sat out his first game since 1999 in observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest holiday on the Jewish calendar.
NOTES: The attendance was 49,320, raising the season total at Dodger Stadium to 3,017,502. The Dodgers have drawn over 3 million fans six straight years and in a big league record 16 seasons. ... Beltre, hitting third for the first time this season -- Green's normal slot -- had three of his team's six hits including an RBI single in the first. ... Bonds had only four hits in 35 at-bats in 10 games at Dodger Stadium this season, with one homer. ... Green had played in 415 straight games -- longest active streak in baseball. Arizona's Luis Gonzalez now holds that distinction, having played in 317 in a row. ... Kent hit his 46th double in the fifth, tying the Giants' franchise record set in 1978 by current Dodgers hitting coach Jack Clark.
