Bonds Sees Sights Before 2-1 Loss

NEW YORK —  Playing for the first time in the House that Ruth Built, Barry Bonds walked through the fence rather than clearing it.

Mike Mussina kept Bonds and San Francisco at bay, pitching the New York Yankees past the Giants, 2-1, Friday night in the renewal of one of baseball’s most storied rivalries.

“He gave me his best. He threw almost everything at me,” Bonds said. “It’s tough when you don’t face someone through the course of a season.”

Said Yankee Manager Joe Torre: “You can tell what kind of player he is when I sit here as the opposing manager saying that we did well against him, and he went two for three.”

The Yankees began interleague play by ending the Giants’ four-game winning streak. The teams last played meaningful games against each other in the 1962 World Series.

The matchup drew a crowd of 55,053 that included War Emblem trainer Bob Baffert--and even drew a few fans who watched from a building rooftop across the street from Yankee Stadium.

Bonds, who began his major league career in 1986, arrived in a white stretch limousine for his first visit to America’s most famous ballpark. Before the game, as the Giants took batting practice, he strolled through a gate in left-center field and spent 90 seconds in Monument Park, studying the likeness of Mickey Mantle and a plaque honoring Thurman Munson.

“I looked at them all,” Bonds said. “I just thought it was nice.”

Bonds enjoyed the crowd too.

“I thought the fans were really good out there. A lot different than Shea Stadium,” he said. “Shea fans are a little rowdier. It was a lot cleaner here. They had me laughing.”

Mussina (9-2) won his sixth consecutive decision, pitching into the seventh inning.

Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances.