It'd been some time since Giants ace Madison Bumgarner yelled at an opponent. Unfortunately, that changed during Monday's 2-1 collapse against the Dodgers.
Bumgarner was cruising -- holding L.A. to one hit and no runs over 6 2/3 innings -- when he was tasked with making a fielding play. He did it just fine, assisting Brandon Belt in retiring Yasiel Puig. Then things got heated, as Bumgarner instructed Puig on what not to look at (hint: he meant himself):
"Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't f**king look at me," Madison Bumgarner said to Yasiel Puig after the final out of the 7th
— Eric Stephen (@truebluela) September 20, 2016
The two had to be separated, as it appeared that fisticuffs were coming. Predictably, the benches cleared, but nobody got too far out of line. Curiously, considering Bumgarner had a one-hit shutout in tact, he was pinch-hit for in the subsequent half-inning -- perhaps to fend off retaliation?
Whatever the case, Bumgarner and Puig have, as the kids say, bad blood:
Not the first time Bumgarner and Puig have had words: https://t.co/xeEgT0fylp
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) September 20, 2016
And Bumgarner is known for being too cavalier when it comes to starting trouble:
A reminder that Bumgarner once provoked a benches-clearing incident because he "wanted to be mad for a minute." https://t.co/Eqqlda16yc
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) September 20, 2016
We have a lot of questions about this entire mess. One thing is for certain: this probably won't be the last time Bumgarner and Puig -- or the Giants and Dodgers, for that matter -- mix things up.
As for the game itself, the Giants carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Conditions got hairy from there, as the Dodgers put runners on the corners with nobody out. Justin Turner would then single in the tying run -- thereby resulting in the Giants' 30th blown save of the season. The next feller up, Adrian Gonzalez, then plated the game-winning run.
The Giants' miserable second half now has them a nearly insurmountable six games back in the division and tied with the Cardinals for the second wild-card spot.