SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds hit his 600th homer Friday night, capping an amazing two-year power surge by becoming the fourth major leaguer to reach the lofty mark -- and the first in 31 years.

	Barry Bonds' 600th home run set off a wild celebration in Pac Bell Park.

With a 421-foot, solo shot to center field in the sixth inning, the San Francisco slugger joined Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays -- Bonds' godfather and idol -- in the exclusive club. No player had crossed the threshold since Aaron did it in April 1971.

"To be in that select group is great, but nothing's more satisfying than doing it front of 40,000 friends here in San Francisco,'' Bonds said. "I don't think that it could ever be more gratifying than that.''

Bonds hit his 500th homer on April 17, 2001, and he has passed 13 players on baseball's career list since then in an unprecedented display. In 2001, his 73 homers broke Mark McGwire's single-season record.

"It's a relief because it's here at home. When I hit 71 at home it was a great feeling. And to hit 600 at home is another great feeling,'' Bonds said.

Bonds' shot off Pittsburgh right-hander Kip Wells was his 33rd of the season and his 106th since the start of the 2001 season.

	Fastest To 600
	Player	Games
	Babe Ruth	2,044
	Barry Bonds	2,394
	Willie Mays	2,557
	Hank Aaron	2,592
	From 500 To 600
		At-bats
	Barry Bonds	710
	Babe Ruth	1,120
	Hank Aaron	1,397
	Willie Mays	1,981

It also put the 38-year-old slugger 155 homers away from Aaron's record total -- though Bonds claims he has no chance to catch Aaron.

Of course, Bonds also thought he had no shot at McGwire's single-season record -- until he surprised everyone, including himself.

Mays is next on the career homer chart with 660. The former Giants star was not at Pacific Bell Park to see Bonds because of a prior commitment.

Despite Bonds' homer, the Giants lost to the Pirates 4-3. Bonds grounded out with two runners on base to end the eighth inning.

"It's just unfortunate we didn't win,'' he said.

"I mean it's sweet, it's nice, I can't sit there and say that it isn't a great moment in my career because, definitely it is. We want to win bad. We're playing good and we just ran against the wall right here,'' he said.

The chilled crowd at Pac Bell, where Bonds hit his 500th career homer and both his 71st and 73rd last season, sparkled with camera flashes and raised its voices with each of Bonds' swings against the Pirates.

The cool seaside air was in optimal condition for homers, and the long ball was in the air. In the first inning, Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer for Pittsburgh; a few minutes later, Rich Aurilia hit a two-run homer to almost the same spot in the left field stands.

	“	I knew it was gone when I hit it, I was just hoping no one got hurt when they go for it. I was just praying no one got hurt fighting for it. ”
		— Barry Bonds

Bonds crushed a 2-1 pitch from Wells, taking a long moment to admire his blast as Pac Bell erupted and fireworks launched from the arcade atop the right field wall. The ball hit near the edge of the left-field bleachers, and the fan who grabbed it, 36-year-old Jay Arsenault of Vacaville, Calif., emerged with a bloody face.

Arsenault, a construction worker, said he plans to sell the ball.

"I knew it was gone when I hit it, I was just hoping no one got hurt when they go for it,'' Bonds said. "I was just praying no one got hurt fighting for it.''

Bonds stepped lightly on home plate and pointed skyward with both hands. He then waved to his wife and daughter sitting next to the dugout, and he pointed at his cheering father, Bobby Bonds, who had surgery last month to remove a cancerous tumor from his kidney.

Manager Dusty Baker and Benito Santiago were the first of the Giants to hug Bonds. The rest of the team crowded around him on the way back to the dugout. Bonds emerged for two standing ovations, waving and pumping his fist.

Bonds needed just 710 at-bats to zoom from 500 homers to No. 600. Ruth had been the fastest to make that climb, and it took him 1,121 at-bats.

When Bonds took his position in left field after the inning, the fans rose for yet another standing ovation. Bonds doffed his cap as Pac Bell unveiled a design on the left field wall honoring the accomplishment.

Bonds, the four-time and defending NL Most Valuable Player, has remained among the NL leaders in several offensive categories this season while playing through a hamstring injury and receiving 127 walks from petrified pitchers and managers.

In late July, Bonds didn't start 10 straight games while trying to recover from a torn hamstring. Last week, he returned to action even though the injury still prevents him from playing at full speed.

Appropriately, Bonds reached the mark against Pittsburgh, where he played his first seven major league seasons and hit 176 homers. Bonds homered in each of the Giants' final two road games at PNC Park last weekend, but he hadn't homered since Tuesday night, when his 599th was a 432-foot shot against Cubs rookie Steve Smyth.

Ever since Bonds returned from Pittsburgh with 598 homers, each sellout crowd at Pac Bell crackled and bubbled with anticipation every time Bonds stepped into the on-deck circle.

The arcade on the right-field wall -- where Bonds' 73rd homer landed, sparking a vicious custody lawsuit over the ball -- was choked throughout the night with fans hoping to get their hands on one of the specially marked balls substituted into the game for each of Bonds' at-bats.

Everyone watched the game around Bonds' play. Fans rushed to their seats as Jeff Kent hit before Bonds, and they rushed off to the bathrooms and concession stands after Bonds took his cuts.

Before Friday night's game, Willie Mays Plaza was thronged with thousands of fans hoping to be the first through the gates. Some of the early arrivals were treated to a rarity: Bonds took batting practice before the game.

But all the attention didn't help Bonds after his 599th. He went homerless in his next 13 plate appearances, getting two hits and five walks -- including two on Thursday from Chicago's Matt Clement, who said he was so excited to pitch against Bonds that he couldn't get anything over the plate.

Wells didn't flinch from pitching to Bonds, giving up an infield single in the first inning and retiring Bonds on a grounder in the fourth.