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SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Barry Bonds added another home run to his record-setting total and set a major league record for slugging percentage as the San Francisco Giants completed the season with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. After coming off the bench Saturday, Bonds faced Dennis Springer with two outs in the first inning. The three-time Most Valuable Player was just 1-for-7 lifetime against the knuckleballer before sending a 3-2 pitch over the right-field fence for his 73rd home run and a 1-0 lead. "I had to make adjustments today against someone who throws that slow," Bonds said. "I had to sit back, move up on the plate and try to make his 75 miles per hour fastball be more like 80. Everybody told me just to bunt. It was like a shock when I hit it out. Chances of hitting one out against someone that slow are slim. I thought, 'What else can you give me, God?'" "He hit a knuckle," Springer said. "I threw two fastballs and wanted to try to get him out with my best pitch. The knuckle is my best pitch." Bonds singled in the third inning, popped out in the sixth and flied out in his final at-bat in the eighth. He finished with an .863 sluggling percentage, bettering the mark of .847 set by Babe Ruth in 1920. "I wouldn't be surprised if someone broke this record. But if someone breaks 73, I don't know if anyone will ever break that," Bonds said. "That will be a lot of home runs. I'm glad I did it at home." As for the slugging percentage mark, he said, "That's the one I don't think is going to be broken." The 37-year-old Bonds also walked 177 times, seven more than the record that Ruth set in 1923. Mark Gardner (5-5) struck out one in a perfect seventh inning for the victory as San Francisco (90-72) completed its second straight 90-win season. Felix Rodriguez pitched a scoreless eighth and Jason Christiansen got the first out in the ninth before Robb Nen came on to notch his league-leading 45th save in 52 chances. "Hey, we had a game to play, so you might as well try to win it," San Francisco manager Dusty Baker said. "My daughter asked me why I always want to win -- because I'm supposed to. We had a lot at stake today. We wanted to win our 90th game. I like round numbers, not ones that end with nines." Springer (1-1) went seven innings, allowing two runs and seven hits with a walk and a strikeout. San Francisco had a chance to add to its lead in the third inning when Marvin Benard doubled to left-center field with one out. After Rich Aurilia flied out, Bonds singled, but left fielder Gary Sheffield threw out Benard at the plate. Giants starter Kirk Rueter walked Adrian Beltre with one out in the fourth and, after Shawn Green flied out, Sheffield tripled to deep center to tie it at 1-1. Rueter yielded one run and three hits in six innings with a walk. With one out in the seventh, Dante Powell beat out a bunt single and moved to second when Ramon Martinez grounded out. Rookie Yorvit Torrealba followed with a single to right-center to score Powell for a 2-1 lead. After Christiansen retired Green to start the ninth, Sheffield had an infield hit off Nen and continued to second when second baseman Jeff Kent threw wildy to first. Sheffield tagged up when Eric Karros flied out but was stranded at third when Nen got Phil Hiatt to ground out. "This is a tremendous rivalry and there was a lot of professionalism out there," Los Angeles manager Jim Tracy said. "No one was making a mockery of the game with all first-ball swinging. They were playing the game the way it's supposed to be played."
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