Nats' Martinez: Giants' attempt to run up score in 9th 'uncalled for'
The San Francisco Giants' apparent disregard for baseball's unwritten rules has angered a second National League opponent.
Tempers nearly boiled over late in the Giants' 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday. Washington was upset that the Giants called for a hit-and-run while holding a six-run lead in the top of the ninth inning, feeling that San Francisco was trying to run up the score.
The Nats easily threw out baserunner Thairo Estrada at home plate but were still irate. Shortstop Alcides Escobar was among the players screaming at the Giants' dugout following the play.
Alcides Escobar and the Nats are very upset after Thairo Estrada tried to steal and score being up 6 runs in the ninth inning pic.twitter.com/Rkdo8pXDku
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 23, 2022
Escobar declined to speak with reporters postgame, but manager Dave Martinez was less than pleased with what transpired.
"They did some things that we felt (were) uncalled for. But you guys can ask (Giants manager) Gabe Kapler about that," Martinez said, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
When asked for specifics, Martinez replied, "No. I'm done with it. I talked to the team about it, so we're going to play baseball the way we play."
Last week, the Giants angered the San Diego Padres when Mauricio Dubon bunted for a single while holding a nine-run lead. Kapler responded to the Padres incident by saying he'd be "totally fine" with another team trying to run up the score on his club and remained defiant Friday.
"We scored seven runs in an inning tonight. They have Josh Bell and Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz in the middle of their lineup. We know they're capable of scoring seven runs in an inning as well," Kapler explained, according to Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com. "This is the way that we think makes the most sense to attack series."
"It's definitely not about running up the score," the skipper added. "We felt like we're respecting our opponents, and we're going to respect our opponents at every turn. This is about using every tool at our disposal to compete."
Giants players were also displeased with the Nationals' reaction:
Austin Slater said Escobar and Robles were “over the line” to approach the Giants dugout in the ninth. As for unwritten rules, “Those days are over.”
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 23, 2022
The three-game series in the nation's capital concludes Sunday. The two teams meet again next weekend at Oracle Park.