Vitello ejected as Giants fall apart in third straight loss to Mets

SAN FRANCISCO — As far as Tony Vitello should be concerned, the Giants split their four-game series with the Mets. At least that was the outcome that looked to be in order when the rookie manager was sent to the showers for the first time in his young career.

Logan Webb looked like himself for the first time this season and the Giants got timely hits from Matt Chapman and Rafael Devers. But it all went to waste in a 5-2 loss Sunday afternoon.

Vitello watched the collapse from his office after he was ejected in the seventh inning.

Jerar Encarnacion had appeared to reach first safely on a dribbler in front of home plate, but he was called out by home plate umpire Edwin Jimenez for going out of the base path, interfering with Mark Vientos’ ability to catch the throw from Huascar Brazoban.

Vitello passionately pleaded his case to Jimenez but appeared to be on his way back to the dugout when Dave Rackley, the crew chief and third-base umpire, raised his right fist and ejected him.

Things began to fall apart the following inning, as Keaton Winn served up hits to Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert, and Erik Miller allowed both inherited runners to score in a four-run frame.

What it means

The Giants weren’t able to take advantage of Webb’s strongest start of the season and dropped three of four to the Mets. The loss was their third in a row, already the second time in 10 games that Vitello’s squad has strung together a losing streak of at least three games.

Who’s hot

Vitello, first of all. The manager had a history with SEC umpires, once earning a suspension for bumping chests during an argument on the field. He was upset by the call on Encarnacion, which prevented the Giants from getting a runner on with one out, but his temper didn’t seem to escalate until Rackley tossed him as he was heading back to the dugout with his back turned.

The ejection came moments after Webb departed the mound for the last time, limiting the Mets to one run, a ton of ground balls and little hard contact over seven innings.

Webb entered the game with a 7.36 ERA through his first two starts, but had everything working against the Mets. The Giants couldn’t capitalize and fell to 1-2 with their ace on the mound.

Who’s not

Miller surrendered multiple runs for the second outing in a row. The hard-throwing lefty looked to be vying for some save opportunities as Vitello goes closer-by-committee, but he may have lost some confidence after the Mets tagged him for four runs in two appearances this series.

The Giants also committed multiple errors for the second time in 10 games, bringing their total to eight, more than all but three other clubs.

Devers wasn’t able to pick a low throw from Chapman after an acrobatic stop in the Mets’ big eighth inning, and Patrick Bailey was charged with a critical catcher’s interference that brought up Francisco Lindor with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh.

Up next

The Phillies visit San Francisco as the Giants wrap up a seven-game home stand. RHP Adrian Houser (0-1, 1.69) gets the ball against RHP Andrew Painter (1-0, 1.69) to open the three-game set with first pitch on Monday set for 6:45 p.m.

The loss dropped the Giants to 1-7 in their last eight games against the Mets at Oracle Park. The good news is they’ve fared much better against the Phillies, who haven’t taken a series in San Francisco since 2013. At home, the Giants are 12-3 against the Phillies dating back to 2021.

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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com