ANAHEIM, Calif. - J.T. Snow was no Angel in his first World Series appearance.

Fact is, he hasn't been one for quite some time.

Anaheim traded Snow to the San Francisco Giants after the 1996 season, and the Angels never regretted that move more than Saturday night.

Snow provided the most lethal blow in Game 1 of this California World Series, connecting for a two-run home run in the sixth inning that carried the Giants to a 4-3 victory over the Angels at Edison Field on Saturday night.

The Giants homered three times off Anaheim ace Jarrod Washburn, including a solo shot by Barry Bonds in his first World Series at-bat in the top of the second inning. Reggie Sanders hit the other homer for the Giants.

Troy Glaus homered twice off Jason Schmidt, giving the Angels' slugger six for the postseason, but the two solo shots could not erase the long-ball damage the Giants did against Washburn.

Snow, a native of Southern California who played four seasons with the Angels, entered this postseason after one of the worst regular seasons of his career. He batted just .246 and hit just six home runs for San Francisco. For one brief period, he even lost his job.

But the son of former Los Angeles Rams receiver Jack Snow is more than making up for the regular season during the Giants' playoff run.

With Saturday night's big hit, he raised his postseason batting average to .286. He has three doubles, a triple, two home runs and seven RBIs in 11 games.

His home run off Washburn gave the Giants a 4-1 cushion in the top of the sixth, and that insurance became huge when the Angels brought out their Rally Monkey and scored twice in the bottom of the inning.

Both teams should have learned in Game 1 that you don't want to play from behind in this World Series.

Washburn and Schmidt each covered 52/3 innings, and when Schmidt was knocked out in the sixth, the Giants led by 4-3.

Each team managed just one baserunner against the other team's relievers, with Robb Nen coming on in the ninth to earn his sixth postseason save for the Giants.

The moment so many baseball fans had anticipated was indeed a special one.

After Washburn retired the side in order in the top of the first inning and Schmidt did the same in the bottom of the first, Bonds stepped to the plate for his first World Series at-bat.

With the count 2-1, Washburn tried to go inside with a fastball against the planet's greatest hitter. The lefthander didn't get the pitch far enough in, and Bonds applied that classic short stroke to it, driving the ball well beyond the right-field wall to account for the first run of the Series.

As Bonds circled the bases, Washburn shook his head and smiled.

Washburn, who intentionally walked just one batter all season, had discussed the issue of facing Bonds a day earlier.

"I don't look forward to having to pitch around somebody, but at the same time, all we want to do is win," he said. "If the best way for us to win is to pitch around Barry Bonds in a certain situation, then I'm willing to do that."

The two met again in the fourth inning with the bases empty and one out. This time, Washburn won the battle, getting Bonds to miss a 2-2 fastball that was up and way inside.

Before the game, Peter Magowan, the Giants' managing general partner, had tried to inform the baseball world that his team was about more than Bonds and manager Dusty Baker, the two men who received most of the attention in the week leading up to the World Series.

"I think all people want to write about is Barry Bonds and Dusty Baker," Magowan said. "Barry Bonds, I think, may be the greatest player ever, and he deserves to be written about. And Dusty Baker is one of the best managers, and he deserves to be written about.

"But the Giants have an all-star catcher (Benito Santiago). We have a guy who has won six Gold Gloves at first base (Snow). We have the best offensive second baseman in baseball the last three years (Jeff Kent). We have the best offensive shortstop in our league the last three years (Rich Aurilia), and a third baseman who hit 20 homers batting eighth (David Bell)."

The Giants also have a rightfielder who went into the World Series with a .147 batting average this postseason, having gone 5 for 34. But the best postseason moments of Sanders' career came in last year's Series when he helped Arizona dethrone the Yankees by hitting .304 and scoring six runs.

Sanders got off to a good start in this World Series, too.

Two batters after Bonds went deep, Sanders reached out and hit a 1-0 fastball from Washburn over the right-field wall, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead.

Glaus cut that margin in half for the Angels when he connected for his fifth homer of the postseason, a drive off Schmidt with one out in the bottom of the second inning.

Neither team scored again until the sixth.

After Sanders reached base on a two-out single to start the sixth, Snow ended Washburn's evening by slugging a 3-1 pitch into the rock configuration beyond the fence in left-center for a two-run homer.

That left the Angels down by 4-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, which, of course, meant just one thing: Rally Monkey time.

Shortly after the monkey had finished jumping around on the Jumbotron in right field, Glaus stepped to the plate and hit his second home run of the night to pull the Angels to within two runs.

Brad Fullmer followed with a walk and, with two out, Adam Kennedy delivered his second hit of the evening, an RBI single to right field. That pulled the Angels within a run and ended Schmidt's outing.