Bonds belts ground-rule double

SAN FRANCISCO — Barry Bonds is just a foot or two shy of his old sluggin' self.

In his season debut for San Francisco, Bonds strode to the plate Monday night, tipped his batting helmet to the roaring, flashbulb-popping crowd, worked a 3-2 count and lined a double that fell just shy of clearing the wall in left-center.

It appeared at first that Bonds had homered in his first-at bat since last October, but wait! A fan had reached over the fence and interfered with the ball, collecting it into the stands, and it was ruled a double.

The scoreboard briefly flashed "704" — which turned out to be premature. Bonds scored moments later on Ray Durham's single to right.

The fan was immediately ejected, consistent with policy for those who interfere with the game.

Playing for the first time following three surgeries this year on his troublesome right knee, Bonds led off the second inning for the Giants, stretching his bat above his head as he walked out of the dugout and acknowledging the fans before digging in against San Diego's Adam Eaton.

Thus began a wild, 11-pitch at-bat in which Eaton, who has given up three of Bonds' 703 career home runs, challenged Bonds with the crowd on its feet all the way.

The sequence: Ball one low and outside, ball two low and outside — "Boo!" from the crowd. Called strike one, called strike two in tight — Bonds mouthing the word "Wow" in disbelief at the call. Foul ball into the second deck, another foul behind him into the second-tier seats, two straight towering fouls into the right-field stands, ball low and away, a foul to left.

Then the double.

In the third inning, Bonds hit a shallow fly to center in his second at-bat. He flied out to deep center in the fifth, and center fielder Dave Roberts banged into the wall after making the catch. The Giants were hanging onto a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The 41-year-old Bonds, resuming his quest for Hank Aaron's career home run record of 755, received a warm ovation when he took his spot in left field in the top of the first, tipping his hat to the cheering crowd.

Bonds was accompanied to the field and warmed up by 9-year-old Christopher Laub, a leukemia patient from nearby Tiburon, who wrote to Bonds during the slugger's rehab and encouraged him to "stay strong because I've had to stay strong because I have leukemia." They have been corresponding ever since.