Dodgers-Giants friction continues with HBP, hard slide

SAN FRANCISCO -- The first clash of the season between the Giants and Dodgers featured an undercurrent of tension, with Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts saying he thought San Francisco right-hander Logan Webb intentionally hit Dalton Rushing in the sixth inning of Thursday afternoon’s series finale at Oracle Park.

Webb drilled Rushing on the ribs with a four-seam fastball, which Roberts believed was retaliation for the Dodgers catcher’s perceived slight of Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee earlier in the series. Rushing responded by making a hard slide into shortstop Willy Adames to try to break up a 4-6-3, inning-ending double play, which earned him glares from several Giants players as they walked off the field.

The situation didn’t escalate beyond that in an eventual 3-0 win for the Dodgers, but Giants second baseman Luis Arraez said afterward that he thought Rushing’s slide into second base was “dirty.”

“The umpire said it was a double play because he slid into Willy’s feet,” said Arraez, who recorded the Giants’ lone hit against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow. “For me, that’s not good baseball. It’s not clean baseball. Thank God Willy’s good, and we made the double play.

“It’s dirty, but for me, this is baseball.”

Roberts offered a similar view of the situation.

"I liked that, too. That’s baseball," Roberts said. "They’re going to hit you. Webby’s got really good command. I get it. They’ll deny it. No problem. And I liked the way [Rushing] went in hard. It’s nothing against Adames, and they turned a double play. It’s good baseball. Good, hard-nosed baseball."

The origin of the feud can likely be traced to Tuesday night’s series opener, when cameras appeared to catch Rushing saying, “F– em,’” as he walked back to the Dodgers dugout after tagging Lee out at the plate for the final out of the sixth inning.

“I didn’t see that,” Webb said when asked about Rushing’s interaction with Lee.

Roberts wasn’t buying that the Giants weren’t aware of the viral clip, though.

"For me, he said what he said. I don’t think he meant it too personally," Roberts said. "But they see it. Social media catches it. Webby’s an old-school guy, and he’s protecting his teammates."

Rushing’s reaction came across as insensitive considering Lee went down hard on his slide into home and ended up departing the game after aggravating a bruised quadriceps on the play, though the Dodgers’ backstop later denied having said anything insulting about Lee when he spoke to reporters the next day.

Rushing also said that he talked with Hyeseong Kim, Lee’s close friend and former KBO teammate, to check in on the Giants right fielder and try to smooth things over. He was aware of the reaction to the clip on social media, but he said it did not bother him.

"I don't really care," Rushing told reporters on Wednesday. "I play the game hard, and I play with fire. … There's no direction towards him or anything. I just think some people make something out of nothing."

“I know that guy,” said Giants manager Tony Vitello, who coached at the University of Tennessee before ascending to his current post last October. “He's from Tennessee. When I first got the [Vols] job, he played in Louisville. He's always played with an edge. Very competitive. … It’s the nature of competing. Stuff goes on.”

Rushing didn’t play on Wednesday, but he found himself back at the center of the drama when he returned to the starting lineup on Thursday. The 25-year-old put the Dodgers on the board with an RBI single off Webb in the second and then reached base again when he was hit with one out in the sixth.

Asked about the HBP to Rushing, Webb said he was simply trying to go “fastball inside.”

Still, the Giants certainly appear intent on playing with more attitude and edge under Vitello, who was known for channeling the same fiery energy into his college teams.

Benches also cleared twice during the Giants’ 3-0 win over the Reds on April 16, which concluded with a heated exchange between Erik Miller and Sal Stewart. That incident stemmed from a clash between JT Brubaker and Spencer Steer, who ended up being plunked by Landen Roupp in the feisty series finale at Great American Ball Park.

While tempers didn’t outwardly flare in San Francisco this week, the friction should serve as a fascinating subplot when the longtime rivals resume their season series in Los Angeles from May 11-14.

“Anytime we play these guys, it’s always a little extra, right?” Webb said. “It’s one of the best rivalries in sports. I’m just excited that we showed a lot of grit all three games. I know it didn’t go the way we wanted it to today, but we felt good in the clubhouse.”