updated 1:29 a.m. ET April 22, 2006

DENVER - The Colorado Rockies won one for their ailing slugger.

Garrett Atkins’ run-scoring single capped a four-run rally in the ninth inning, lifting the Rockies over the San Francisco Giants 9-8 on Friday night.

The Rockies rallied without Todd Helton, who was hospitalized overnight with stomach pains and a fever.

“I’m very concerned,” teammate Matt Holliday said. “Any time you have to go to the hospital, it’s never a good thing. When I leave here, I’m going to see if I can call him.”

The team hopes to know more regarding Helton on Saturday. Fellow first baseman Eli Marrero also was sent to Rose Medical Center earlier this month for similar symptoms. He was sidelined for several days.

The Giants built an 8-5 lead thanks to a pair of impressive home runs by Pedro Feliz, who finished with five RBIs.

Barry Bonds’ search for his lost power stroke didn’t end in the thin air of downtown Denver in the series opener. He went 0-for-2 with three walks and watched his homerless start stretch to 12 games and 30 at-bats. In 1998, Bonds didn’t homer until his 13th game, the longest season-opening drought when healthy of his career.

“I don’t have any comments to make tonight,” Bonds said.

The Giants’ bullpen failed miserably. Closer Tim Worrell (2-1) didn’t to record an out and was tagged for four earned runs, and Armando Benitez’s season debut was ruined by Atkins’ game-winning single.

“You aren’t going to replace a Todd Helton, but we have guys that can do things for us,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said.

Marrero led off the ninth with a home run and Worrell gave up singles to Luis Gonzalez, Danny Ardoin and pinch-hitter Choo Freeman. Steve Kline then relieved Worrell and struck out Cory Sullivan.

Benitez, who came off the disabled list Thursday night after recovering from left knee bursitis, followed Kline. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Clint Barmes and an RBI single to Holliday before surrendering Atkins’ game-winner.

Special report In-depth look at controversial slugger

“It was not pretty,” Giants manager Felipe Alou said. “I (had) to use Benitez in a situation where I really didn’t want to pitch him. But he was one strike away twice from getting a save.”

David Cortes (2-0) picked up the win with a perfect ninth inning.

Holliday’s three-run homer off Jason Schmidt put the Rockies ahead 4-0 in the third, and Feliz cut the deficit in half with his first homer of the season, a 433-foot shot to left an inning later. Feliz’s second drive was a three-run homer that snapped a 4-4 tie in the fifth.

Both of his homers came off Jason Jennings, who was tagged for seven earned runs and eight hits over six innings. He was relieved by Miguel Asencio, who pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his first major league appearance in nearly three years.

In his first at-bat, Bonds, who leads opposing players with 24 homers at Coors Field, sent a fastball more than 400 feet away to dead center for a long third out.

He would get just one other cut all night as the Rockies didn’t change their pitching philosophy with Bonds scuffling.

“I told my guys in the meeting today, man, it’s like a snake. If somebody tells me it’s dead, I’m going to run over it three times before I believe it,” Hurdle said. “You tell me he’s not swinging the bat good, I’ll believe it when he’s left here and we’ve been able to handle him.”

Hurdle said it’s just a matter of time before Bonds makes up for his early struggles and he had no intention of letting Bonds off the hook against his team.

“We will pitch to him only when we feel it’s practical,” Hurdle said.

Sure enough, Bonds drew intentional walks in the third and fifth innings and an unintentional one in the seventh, although that might have been attributed more to nerves as Asencio, two years removed from elbow surgery, was making his first major league appearance since May 2003.

The strategy on Bonds didn’t pan out in the fifth, when Jennings also walked Moises Alou to load the bases with one out and Colorado clinging to a 4-2 lead. Lance Niekro’s fly to left dropped just in front of Holliday, who threw wildly past third, allowing Bonds to score the tying run. Feliz followed with his three-run homer for a 7-4 lead.

Slide show   Giant among men A look back at some key moments in the amazing career of Barry Bonds

The Coors Field crowd pelted Bonds with shouts of “Juice!” and boos every chance it got, especially when he grounded out to first with two men on base and two outs in the eighth.

“When he isn’t playing it’s quiet,” Alou said. “It has been like a cemetery. There was no energy in the parks. We like the boos now.”

Although, he sure could have done without all the cheers in the ninth.

Notes: The Giants are 7-2 with Bonds and Alou in the starting lineup. ... Feliz has six multihomer games in his career and 12 career homers at Coors. ... Bonds swung at two of the 17 pitches he saw.

MORE FROM BARRY BONDS

Barry Bonds Section Front

King of swing San Francisco throws party for Bonds Opinion: Media treatment of Bonds has been foolish Vote: Has media been generally fair to Bonds? Bonds might sue accusers, including Schilling Next season likely will be his last, Bonds says Bonds doesn’t surpass HR kings, he joins them Celizic: Bonds emulates a society of cheaters Opinion: 756 ball won't be top prize for long Beyond Bonds: Candidates for home run crown Barry Bonds Section Front   Add Barry Bonds headlines to your news reader: