BONDS FEVER GRIPS THE BAY DODGERS' EASY VICTORY TAKES A BACKSEAT DODGERS 6, SAN FRAN. 2.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - The emotions inside Barry Bonds were twisted every which way during a 30-hour whirlwind, so Saturday became a perfect time for the new home run ruler to step back and gaze at what took place.

A night after etching his name atop the single-season home run record list by swatting his 71st and 72nd homers against the Dodgers' Chan Ho Park, Bonds singled in an otherwise meaningless pinch-hit appearance in the Dodgers' 6-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on a postcard Saturday afternoon at Pac Bell Park.

The Dodgers (86-75) matched their win total of last season and James Baldwin (3-6) pitched seven shutout innings to break a personal losing streak of five games, but the day was all about Bonds. Fans chanted his name periodically and replays of each of his homers were shown on the videoboard.

And though Bonds didn't add to his record total for homers or walks (177) in a season, the euphoria that engulfed the Bay Area and baseball persisted.

``Nothing ever surprises me, but it's like one of those things like, `Barry, what are you going to do next?' '' said Dodgers left fielder Gary Sheffield, a close friend. ``It's like, `Whatever you do, I'm going to do better.' That's just his mentality.''

That approach has produced one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball. Bonds' on-base percentage is .514. His slugging is .860 and his 72 homers eclipsed McGwire's 1998 mark of 70. And Bonds has one game remaining.

``What happened, you couldn't dream of,'' said Bonds, who is batting .326 with 136 RBI. ``You couldn't dream of putting a kind of year like that together. I'll look at those numbers eventually and see what I did.''

Once viewed as a prima donna, Bonds also has transformed his image, showing a sensitive side because of extreme circumstances in the final weeks of his home run chase.

The day before hitting his 66th homer Sept. 28 against San Diego, a dear friend, Franklin Bradley, died after going into the hospital for what was termed a routine surgical procedure. Not exactly the sentimental type, Bonds was emotional that day as he gushed about the meaning of the homer.

He hit No. 70 Thursday in Houston in a series in which he rarely saw a hittable pitch. He returned home to attend Bradley's funeral Friday morning, then went out and broke McGwire's record on a 1-1 fastball in the first inning. It cleared the right-center-field fence by a few feet.

``I knew I hit it pretty good, but sometimes this park can be deceiving,'' Bonds said. ``It looked like it was dying close to the wall more than usual. Those kinds of things have worked out for me all year and I've stayed healthy all year. That's been the key.''

Bonds added his 72nd in his next at-bat, an eerie feeling for a Dodgers team caught on the wrong side of milestone moments for a few days.

Thursday in San Diego, Padres outfielder Rickey Henderson used a solo homer against the Dodgers to establish the all-time runs-scored record, a mark held for 73 seasons by Ty Cobb.

``It's a strange feeling being out there, but it's quite an accomplishment,'' Dodgers second baseman Mark Grudzielanek said of Bonds. ``There's no question it's (strange). You just don't think it will happen, and then it just wakes you up. It's like, `Wow, he did hit one.' And what can you say about that? It's just an unbelievable accomplishment. There's very few people who can do what he did this year. If the big man (McGwire) gets healthy, maybe. I think this one is going to last a long time.

``What he did this year is phenomenal. It doesn't matter what people think of him, if you like him or if you don't like him. He did a remarkable thing.''

Yet, as time advances and the moment turns into a long tale told by many, an interesting side note will be that the hated Dodgers, who chose to pitch to Bonds rather than duck him, had the last laugh that day.

Bonds belted the homers to establish the mark, but Giants were knocked out of the playoffs with the 11-10 loss.

``It was kind of like you feel as if you're not really part of it,'' said Dodgers right fielder Shawn Green, whose RBI Saturday gave him 125, the second-highest total in Los Angeles history. ``It's like a spectator standing out in the middle of the field. It's something you'll always remember and be able to say you were a part of, but at the same time you really don't want to be a part of it. But at least we eliminated them. That's the consolation prize.''

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Photo: (color) Barry Bonds, the new home run king with 72, had a pinch-hit single against the Dodgers on Saturday.

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press