News:vs. San Francisco Giants- June 8,2002

Three batters into Saturday's game, Ted Lilly joined a somewhat-exclusive club, as he became the 351st pitcher to give up a home run to Barry Bonds. The three-run shot gave the Giants a 3-0 lead with none out in the opening frame

he got back up on the mound and held San Francisco off the scoreboard over the next seven innings, scattering six hits and two walks and leaving the game with his team tied 3-3..

"It's tough when you pitch to three guys and you're down 3-0," Lilly said. "It's still the first inning; we hadn't lost the game. I wasn't going to throw in the towel at 3-0 in the first. I had no choice but to battle from there on out."

After Lilly walked David Bell to start the game, Rich Aurilia lined a single to left, bringing Bonds to the plate with two men on. Lilly's first pitch to Bonds was a high fastball, which Bonds swung through for a strike. After Bonds took the second pitch for a ball, Lilly went back with another fastball. Bonds didn't swing through this one, launching it into the top section of the upper deck in right field for his 21st home run -- his first at Yankee Stadium.

"We wanted to throw a fastball away, and I didn't do that," Lilly said. "When you make mistakes to a guy like that, he's not the kind of guy to hit a ground-ball single through the hole -- he makes you pay."

"With two men on and nobody out, we had no choice. That's the situation you try to avoid, and we needed to get the people out in front of him," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "Teddy threw the first pitch, a high fastball strike, and when he went back there again, he was ready for him."

"When he went out for the second inning, I told him just to try and hold them right there," Stottlemyre said. "It would have been real easy for him to cave in, but he didn't. He made good pitches after that, kept us in the game. I thought he rebounded very nicely."

Lilly retired six of the next seven batters but ran into more trouble in the third inning. Bonds walked on four pitches with one out, and Jeff Kent singled to left. After Benito Santiago's grounder moved the runners into scoring position, the Yankees intentionally walked Reggie Sanders to load the bases for J.T. Snow. Lilly got Snow to ground out, ending the threat.

"I was looking at three or four innings, but I give the kid a lot of credit," said Torre. "In front of 55,000 people, to settle in the way he did, he gave us an opportunity to win."

"In the last couple of innings, I started to get a feel for my fastball and started locating better," Lilly said. "Up to that point, I just did what I could to keep us close."

"I can't tell you how much credit I give him, the way he settled in and got us through seven innings," Torre said. "He was dynamite."

"There's no shame in it, but when you're facing the best in the game, you want to win," Lilly said. "You want to face the best, but you also want to beat the best."