Beef in San Francisco: Hunter Strickland Hates the Miami Marlins

In the wake of Hunter Strickland’s immature display, the San Francisco Giants entered the middle game of this three game set mad at the Miami Marlins.

The Miami Marlins trailed the Giants, 4-0 in the fourth inning of Monday’s game. Miguel Rojas got a pair back on a two-run single in the fifth inning. In the ninth, still leading by a 4-2 score, Hunter Strickland was called in to close the door on Miami.

But that didn’t work out so well for Strickland. He walked Brian Anderson (extending Anderson’s on-base streak to 15 games). J.T. Realmuto followed with an RBI-double to set up Justin Bour with a man on second and nobody out. Bour responded by drawing a five-pitch walk.

Cameron Maybin grounded into a force-out, leaving runners on the corners and one out for Lewis Brinson. Brinson laced a line drive into right field, tying the score. Strickland seemed angered by Brinson’s success.

He just stared at me. I don’t know [what irked Strickland]. I have no idea. You can ask him. I just looked at him walk off the mound, and that was it. I didn’t say anything. – Brinson, to MLB.COM

When asked about it, Strickland downplayed the incident:

Rojas then singled to score Maybin and take a 5-4, Marlins lead. Kyle Barraclough came in to snuff out any chance for the Giants to rally, earning his sixth save of the campaign. More on Barraclough, here.

Apparently, after blowing the save, Strickland broke his hand on a locker by punching it like an eighth-grader.

This set the stage for drama in the Bay on Tuesday. Buster Posey went deep in the first inning to give the Giants an early lead. In the top of the second, Brinson came to the plate with nobody out and runners on first and second base. Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez plunked Brinson on the derriere on a 1-0 pitch. The home plate umpire warned both pitchers and both benches that this wouldn’t be tolerated.

Don Mattingly was maddened by the warning, with good reason and to little effect. Gorkys Hernandez added another pair to the Giants lead in the bottom of the inning with a long ball to left-center. After Dan Straily walked Joe Panik, Posey, who remember had homered in the first, was hit in the shoulder.

Straily was instantly ejected, as was Mattingly.

The fourth inning would see the Miami Marlins take three runs back. Two on a JT Riddle triple into “Triples Alley” in right-center field. Derek Dietrich was then hit by a pitch, but that’s nothing new for him. He’s the Miami Marlins franchise recordholder with 81. Anderson then drove in Riddle with a double, and is now hitting .411 with runners in scoring position.

The Giants have scored another pair of runs and now lead, 6-3 in the seventh inning.

Minors

The New Orleans Baby Cakes authored a two-time come-from-behind series-sweep-clinching victory over the Sacramento RiverCats, 9-8 in an early afternoon matinee. Scott Van Slyke hit his seventh home run of the season, And Peter Mooney was three-for-three.

In Jupiter, the Hammerheads defeated the Florida Fire Frogs, 5-3. The win placed Jupiter’s win total for the season at 40, the best mark in the FSL. Ethan Clark started and struck out seven while allowing just one hit in five innings.

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Jerar Encarncion collected a single and a triple to lead the Batavia Muckdogs in defeat. The DSL expatriate is hitting a team-best .455 in the early going, but the Dogs lost to the West Virginia Black Bears 7-6.

Speaking of the DSL, the baby Marlins defeated the baby Braves, 6-2. Dalvy Rosario and Jhonaiker Osorio each collected a pair of singles.

Down in the GCL, the Marlins won their second straight game to remain undefeated on the season. Daniel Castano struck out four in five one-hit innings of relief. Recent draftees Milton Smith (1-for-4, double), Harrison DiNicola (2-for-4, double, RBI), Will Bradshaw (0-for-3, walk, run), Keegan Fish (1-for-3, walk, run), Gunnar Schubert (2-for-4, run, RBI), and Andrew Turner (1-for-2, double, two walks), all had their turns at the plate.

Transactions

RHP Nick Wittgren joined the New Orleans Baby Cakes for rehabilitation.

The Jupiter Hammerheads sent RHP Steven Farnworth down to the GCL Marlins for a rehab start.

RHP Jared Crescentini, RHP Tyler Mitzel, and LHP Scott Sebald joined the GCL Marlins as free agents.

Next: Kyle Barraclough is Unhittable

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