Barry Bonds will be starting in left field Monday night against the Padres at SBC Park and batting fourth in his first game back after months of rehab on his surgically repaired right knee. Giants manager Felipe Alou made it official Sunday after a little pregame chat on the field with the left-handed slugger, who will resume his pursuit of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron for the all-time homer record. Bonds is at 703, 11 behind Ruth's 714 and 52 away from Aaron's 755. Alou almost immediately came toward the assembled media sitting in the Giants dugout and waved four fingers to indicate that the mutual decision between player and manager was complete. Bonds said he was thrilled by the possibilities on his first day back from the disabled list. "I'm in game mode," Bonds told MLB.com after the Giants lost, 3-2, to the Cubs, their third loss in the four-game series and fifth in the last six games. "This is where I want to be. This is what I envisioned all those months I was working to get my knee back where it needed to be."