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''There's millions of people watching'' ??

HOUSTON -- The reaction of Astros fans to Barry Bonds being hit by reliever Russ Springer in the fifth inning of Tuesday night's game bothered Giants manager Felipe Alou more than the actual plunking.

 

Many in the crowd of 35,286 gave Springer a standing ovation after he hit Bonds. Springer threw all five pitches in the fifth inside to Bonds, the first one going behind him.

 

"It bothered me a lot because there's a lot of children here," Alou said before Wednesday's game.

 

Alou pointed out that the Astros have a child yell "play ball" into a microphone at the start of every game.

 

"I don't believe that's 'playing ball,'" he said of the crowd reaction to Bonds being hit. "There are a lot of kids watching the game. I'm not talking about a guy getting hit. I'm talking about a standing ovation when it happened.

 

"If you don't have any feelings for the person or player [bonds], you have to have some respect for what's going on. They've got to be respectful of the event. There's millions of people watching. I feel there's other ways to express your feelings."

 

Someone asked Alou if he felt he compelled to defend Bonds.

 

"I don't feel I have to defend Barry," he said. "The system defends Barry. Common sense defends Barry."

 

Alou said he plans to use Bonds as the designated hitter in all three games of this weekend's series in Oakland.

 

National anthem: San Francisco outfielder Randy Winn spent his previous eight years in the Majors in the American League, five with Tampa Bay and three with Seattle. The Giants obtained him last summer in a trade for right-hander Jesse Foppert and catcher Yorvit Torrealba.

 

Winn said it wasn't a big adjustment for him changing leagues.

 

"The majority of the starters I've seen in Spring Training or Interleague Play," he said. "The bullpen guys are not as familiar."

 

Winn said National League pitchers tend to be more aggressive.

 

"They don't throw more fastballs," he said of National League pitchers. "They throw more pitches in the zone."

 

Winn probably knows the Giants' next opponent, Oakland, better than any of his teammates.

 

"It's like I'm back in the same division," Winn said of Seattle and Oakland being in the American League West.

 

Cain is able: Starter Matt Cain pitched two innings of perfect relief in Tuesday's 14-3 win at Houston, striking out Preston Wilson along the way.

 

"It was different because it was out of the bullpen, making that long walk in," said Cain, who made only one relief appearance in the Minors. "I felt good. I was thinking first-pitch strike and not walking anybody. I felt like I could throw to either side of the plate and the balls were down."

 

"He looked like a closer," Alou said of Cain pitching the eighth and ninth innings.

 

Cain pitched in the Futures Game in Houston in 2004.

 

"That didn't go as well," he said. "I don't think I got anybody out."

 

Cain is scheduled to rejoin the rotation and start Sunday in Oakland.

 

Brad Hennessey took Cain's spot in the rotation Monday and pitched five innings to get the win in the 10-1 victory over the Astros.

 

No place like Houston: The Giants continued their dominance of the Astros in Houston with Tuesday's 14-3 pounding. San Francisco is 19-5 at Minute Maid Park since it opened in 2000. That is the best record of any team in the Majors at this ballpark.

 

Tuesday's victory also clinched the season series over Houston for San Francisco, four games to one, with Wednesday night's game being their last meeting of the regular season. The Giants have beaten Houston for the season five years in a row.

 

Alou could offer no explanation for San Francisco's success in Houston.

 

"Maybe they like Minute Maid orange juice," he said of his players. "We don't do anything special."

 

They like playing the Astros in San Francisco, too. The Giants are 32-13 vs. Houston home and away starting in 2000.

 

On deck: Following an off-day Thursday, the Giants begin Interleague Play with a three-game series starting Friday night in Oakland at 7:05 p.m. PT. Left-hander Noah Lowry (1-0, 4.11 ERA) will start for San Francisco against A's right-hander Dan Haren (3-3. 4.40 ERA). Saturday is a day game.

 

The Giants return to AT&T Park on Monday for a six-game homestand with St. Louis and Colorado.

 

Gene Duffey is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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