HR quest moves to Milwaukee

Bonds moved within two home runs of Aaron's mark yesterday, sending No. 752 over the rightfield bleachers and his 753rd into the basket on the wall in left-center in Wrigley Field, his 18th and 19th of the season.

The San Francisco slugger returned to the starting lineup for the first time in four games after sitting to let his sore lower body recover, though his two homers were not enough for the Giants in a 9-8 loss to the surging Cubs.

In case Bonds had somehow forgotten what he was chasing, the commemorative balls being used when he bats are constant reminders.

"It's real now," Bonds said, swarmed by media in a makeshift dugout news conference. "I had to get over them switching those baseballs. Any time that happens, I kind of go into a slide. It's tough, because you actually really realize something's going on and you don't really want to think about it. But when they stop it for a second and switch baseballs, it's very hard to not know something's happening right in front of you."

Tonight, the quest moves to Miller Park in Milwaukee, the city where Aaron started and ended his career. It's also the home of commissioner Bud Selig, who hasn't said whether he'll be in the seats as Bonds attempts to make history.

"It doesn't mean anything different than anywhere else," Bonds said of playing in Aaron's town.

It was also his 71st multihomer game, second all-time behind Babe Ruth's 72.

The Cubs could still celebrate afterward, with their 18th victory in the last 23 games, moving six games over .500 (50-44) for the first time since June 11, 2005. *