Strickland punches door, breaks hand

Hunter Strickland had quite a secret when he calmly stood before his locker Monday night and took responsibility for his blown save and a 5-4 loss to the Marlins.

Strickland might not have been completely aware of his fate as he addressed reporters, but subsequent X-rays revealed that the closer broke his hand after what manager Bruce Bochy described as a “snap” in which he punched a door with his right hand.

After being removed from the game with three runs in and one out, Strickland made a “stupid decision,” he confessed a day after the fact.

Strickland underwent surgery Tuesday afternoon to repair his fifth metacarpal, the same bone that Madison Bumgarner and Evan Longoria had broken accidentally during games.

In fact, Longoria underwent surgery to repair his left hand just hours before Strickland did. Like Longoria, Strickland will miss six to eight weeks.

Strickland’s anger Monday was not just a product of the blown lead. He and Marlins center fielder Lewis Brinson got into a jawing match after Brinson flung his bat and stared at the pitcher when he singled after Strickland’s firstpitch

fastball brushed him back.

They jawed again as Brinson stood on third base and Strickland purposely walked past him toward the dugout when Bochy pulled him. Bochy believes Strickland punched the door moments later.

“It was a tough loss, a gutwrenching loss, and he felt responsible for it, and he didn’t think before he acted,” Bochy said.

Strickland took to social media after his operation to express contrition.

“Words cannot describe the amount of regret and sorrow I have for my actions,” he said on Instagram. “I have let down the ones that care and mean the most, as well as the ones that count on me day in and day out. To my family, my teammates, my coaches, this organization, and our fan base, I am truly sorry that one split second, stupid decision has

caused so much harm and now set me back from being out there with my team to pursue our goal.”

Strickland’s temper is well known. Everyone saw it on Memorial Day last year when he ignited a brawl by drilling the Nationals’ Bryce Harper with a pitch to try to settle a score from the playoffs three seasons earlier.

While a lot of Giants fans got what they wanted — Strickland out of the closer role — his absence leaves a large void. He mostly succeeded in the role, converting 13 of 17 save opportunities. He went nearly two months without a blown save before he lost a one-run lead in Miami on Thursday after Joe Panik dropped a popup for a twobase error.

“I’m disappointed. Trust me,” Bochy said. “I’m crushed. … He really grew as a pitcher and handled his emotions well in tough situations, which you have to do. You have to be able to control your emotions. That’s part of being a closer. You have to have emotional command.”

This time, though, “he let his emotions get the better of him.”

Tony Watson and Sam Dyson, who have closing experience, will share the ninth inning, although one will get the majority of save chances. Bochy was not ready to declare which until after he spoke to the pitchers, but said he hoped to stay away from Watson on Tuesday night after he’d pitched in the two previous games.

Bochy said Mark Melancon, who was signed to a fouryear, $62 million before 2017 to be the closer, does not have the “resiliency” yet to close after rehabbing arm injuries for the season’s first two months.