SAN FRANCISCO — Bruce Bochy stepped into his press conference clad in a bright orange workout shirt. He wasn’t wearing a puffy black jacket or his ‘Orange Friday’ home uniform. He didn’t need that for the last six and a half innings of the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
That’s because the skipper was ejected for the 69th time in his career after Patrick Corbin zipped a fastball behind Buster Posey, the second “purpose pitch” of the plate appearance. Home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott issued warnings to both teams, but Bochy was fired up the young umpire failed to eject Corbin for his antics.
Theoretically, it was retaliation for Jeff Samardzija beaning Jean Segura after his first-inning home run. In reality, the Giants thought it was delusional to think they’d hit Segura with one out and a runner on first.
“I mean come on,” Bochy said after the game. “…We’re in the business to win games here … I understand they’re not happy that their guy got hit. But I can’t have Buster being a target.
“That’s enough. I had enough of it. That’s when guys get hurt.”
Bochy took a not-so-subtle jab at his division rivals, currently in the cellar of the NL West while the first-place Giants (55-33) pushed to a season-high 22 games over .500 with Friday night’s 6-2 win. Bochy remains stoic as they come, but after choosing to let loose on Wolcott, the Giants indicated it was the injection they needed to get the best of Corbin.
With bench coach Ron Wotus the acting manager, Posey walked on the pitch after Corbin threw behind him. That brought up Crawford, who needed no more reason to carry a chip on his shoulder. His omission from the All-Star Game has been discussed equally as much as the Giants who did make the team. After seeing the Diamondbacks target Posey, Crawford stepped in and kicked off his 3-for-3 night with a game-tying home run.
“I don’t know what they were thinking throwing at Buster twice,” Crawford said. “That kind of fired me up. When he walked, I wanted to make (Corbin) pay for doing it.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, that’s really what I was going for.”
The Giants got what they wanted, and didn’t let up on Corbin. Samardzija legged out a one-out double in the fourth inning, and scored when Jake Lamb made a crucial two-out error that airmailed Paul Goldschmidt. The inning was left cracked open for Crawford, who found a hole into right field that opened up the Giants’ lead for good.
Corbin couldn’t make it through the opposing lineup for a third time, as Brandon Belt, Posey and Crawford all reached base with one out in the fifth. The left-hander’s night ended on a bases-loaded walk to Grant Green, and Wolcott doubled up on ejections as Arizona manager Chip Hale was tossed for arguing on his way back to the dugout.
The final score wasn;t reflective of the emotions and intensity that flared Friday night, but it sure was indicative of the direction each team is trending. The Giants, through all their injuries and bullpen struggles, still have a stranglehold on all their divisional foes. The Diamondbacks, who’ve struggled mightily since winning the off-season, might have a stranglehold on themselves more than anybody else.
They couldn’t make Samardzija pay for a 31-pitch first inning, and never got back in a game they were in control of after the first pitch. As quickly as a 2-0 fastball got away from Corbin, the game slipped out of his hands with it.
“It’s cool to see everyone get fired up,” Samardzija said. “It’s a long season, so whatever it takes to get going, you could use it.”