An eventful day . . . without Bonds

All of baseball's attention has been focused on Barry Bonds and his pursuit of his 600th home run.

But two others stole some of the spotlight Friday.

In Cleveland, the Rangers' Kenny Rogers came close to pitching his second perfect game. He retired the first 21 hitters in Texas' 3-2 victory.

He walked Jim Thome to lead off the eighth.

Milton Bradley's double ended Rogers' bid for the sixth no-hitter in Rangers' history.

But there was controversy.

Cleveland accused Rogers, who pitched a perfect game in 1994, of scuffing the ball and even asked the home plate umpire to check him for illegal substances in the sixth. Nothing was found, but that didn't stop the Indians from complaining.

"I know he was scuffing the ball," Bradley said. "There were five or six balls that all were scuffed in the same spot. He had a sharp fingernail or something."

In Cincinnati, Aaron Boone hit two two-run homers during the Reds' nine-run first. In the fifth, he hit another home run, matching his career high with five RBIs as the Reds beat the Padres 12-10.

With the crowd urging him on, Boone struck out in the sixth and had an infield single in the eighth, matching his career high with four hits.

The two early swings helped Boone keep up with his older brother, Bret, who hit two homers in an inning for Seattle on May 2.

Four in one game? Boone never imagined he would have three.

"I hit four once in T-ball," he said. "I used to whale them to rightfield.

"I don't even know what to say. It was just kind of weird. After I hit the third homer, I was a fish out of water and a little uncomfortable out there the rest of the game."

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