Puignacious display: Fight mars tense battle
LOS ANGELES >> A night after Nick Hundley sent the Dodgers home sick to their stomachs, the Giants catcher took a punch to his own.
A fiery exchange at home plate between Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig and Giants catcher Nick Hundley led to a benchesclearing fight in the seventh inning Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers added more drama to the equation in the eighth by tying the game, but for the second straight night, the Giants took the lead in the ninth as Alen Hanson drove in Brandon Belt for the go-ahead run in a 2-1 win.
Belt didn’t begin the game in the lineup, but entered after Hundley was ejected following the skirmish at home plate.
After Puig stepped out of the batter’s box following a seventhinning swing against reliever Tony Watson, Hundley said something that drew the ire of Puig. The hitter turned around and came face-to-face with Hundley at home plate.
As tensions escalated, Puig tapped Hundley on the chest and took another swipe at the Giants catcher, sending both teams racing from their dugouts onto the field. Dodgers assistant coach George Lombard tackled Hundley to the ground in an effort to separate Hundley and Puig, but not before Puig leaped above several players and tried to take one final swing at the Giants catcher.
While umpires and coaches tried to cool the teams off, Giants
outfielder Hunter Pence held Hundley back.
“They said that we went at each other and obviously I disagreed with being tossed,” Hundley said. “It’s one of those things that I wish I was able to stay in the game, but that’s their call. If you get into a brawl, you probably put yourself at the mercy of their decisions.”
The incident took the spotlight off a banner night for Giants rookie left-hander Andrew Suárez, who has battled through a confidencedraining summer slump in recent weeks.
Though Suárez posted a 7.43 ERA in his last five starts, he didn’t yield a run in six marvelous innings against the Dodgers Tuesday. The rookie tamed a homer-happy Dodger lineup and recorded his first scoreless outing since he tossed seven shutout innings against the Phillies June 2.
Right-hander Sam Dyson failed to preserve the onerun lead, though, as Manny Machado drove in Justin Turner to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the eighth.
The Giants’ offense didn’t provide Suárez with much support, but a second-inning run allowed him to pitch with the lead against a Dodgers team feeling mounting pressure from a four-game losing skid.
Both teams entered the day with eyes on a tightening National League West race and as the game played out on the field, early returns from the out of town scoreboard spelled trouble for both sides. The firstplace Diamondbacks held off the Rangers, assuring
After crashing into left fielder Gorkys Hernández while pursuing a Clayton Kershaw double in Monday’s win, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford began the day in concussion protocol.
Crawford is the only starting infielder who has yet to spent time on the disabled list this season, and after he passed a series of tests before Tuesday’s game, Crawford remained active for the game. Though Crawford didn’t start against Dodgers lefty Alex Wood, the Giants were relieved their best infielder avoided a more serious injury and was healthy enough to suit up.
The Giants called on Hanson to replace Crawford in the lineup and the decision paid off in the top of the second. Though Hanson is superior as a lefthanded hitter, he roped a single up the middle from the right side in his first plate appearance to drive in Evan Longoria and put the Giants ahead 1-0.
An early lead appeared to inspire confidence in Suárez, who labored through a 25-pitch first inning before settling down as the game wore on.
After allowing a combined 33 hits over his last four starts, Suárez limited the Dodgers to two hits in his first five innings of work and built upon a scoreless streak he began in his last outing against Pittsburgh.
Suárez surrendered backto-back home runs in a loss to the Pirates Thursday, but finished the evening with three straight scoreless innings. The rookie left-hander said his command improved and felt he sorted out a mechanical issue, leading to a Tuesday outing in which he pitched as well as he has since the All-Star break.
• The Giants activated Belt (hyperextended knee) to the roster prior to Tuesday’s game after a brief rehab stint with Triple-A Sacramento.
Belt went 1-for-3 Monday before flying from Reno to Los Angeles to join the Giants after he missed the last 17 games. It was Belt’s second stint on the disabled list this year, as he also missed 13 games in June after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.
Reliever Pierce Johnson was optioned to clear a roster spot.