Multiple SF Giants ejected after benches clear during win in Colorado

From a shove at the pitchers’ mound to multiple home runs, heavy hitters were everywhere in the Giants 7-4 victory over the Rockies on Tuesday.

A benches-clearing brawl resulted in Willy Adames and Matt Chapman being ejected in the top of the first inning of San Francisco’s game in Colorado, a game that saw the team, finally, crawl back over .500 at 70-69.

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After Rafael Devers smashed his 30th home run of the season off lefthander Kyle Freeland to give the Giants a 2-0 lead, the two exchanged words as San Francisco’s slugger slowly rounded the bases.

As the benches cleared, Giants third baseman Chapman ran up to Freeland and shoved the pitcher.

“I saw the ball go out, and i was behind a few people, and the next thing I know, people are running out onto the field,” Giants manager Bob Melvin told media. “I didn’t really see what happened. I know that Freeland went over and said something, and that started the whole thing. Guys these days are doing a lot worse than what Rafi was doing hitting a home run.”

A few seconds later, as the teams met at the pitchers’ mound, Adames confronted Freeland and appeared ready to fight with the Rockies starter, but ended up only lightly patting the pitcher.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before with that guy,” Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb said. “He runs his mouth a lot of times, and Rafi got him good.”

“You don’t see this very often, especially in the first inning,” Wilmer Flores said on the NBC broadcast. “We’ve got each other’s backs, and its part of the game.”

Once the teams went back to their respective dugouts and Devers rounded the bases , umpire Phil Cuzzi tossed Adames, Chapman and Freeland. The Giants players were due up next in the batting order.

Casey Schmitt, coming off an elbow injury sustained on Monday, came in to play second base as Christian Koss shifted over to shortstop.

Dominic Smith came in to play first base, as Devers, who was named the National League’s co-Player of the Week earlier in the day, moved to third.

“He didn’t have his third-baseman’s glove, but he played well over there,” Melvin said, later adding that he hoped there were no suspensions as a result of the incident.

The Giants, who entered Tuesday’s game having won 8 of their last 9, were now down two of their best players.

Fortunately for the visiting team, it had ace Webb on the mound. He went five innings and struck out seven, although he also allowed seven hits, two walks and two earned runs on 94 pitches in his 13th win of the season.

The Rocklin native, not quite at his best, enjoyed solid run support from the shorthanded offense.

After Hunter Goodman cut the Giants’ lead to 2-1 on a ground ball single in the third inning, San Francisco responded in the fifth.

A banged-up Schmitt looked perfectly healthy as he pounded the ball through the thin Denver air for his 10th home run of the season in the fifth inning.

Following Smith’s single, Wilmer Flores made it a 5-1 lead with a 385-foot blast to left for a two-run homer.

“I was sitting on a changeup there, and got a slider down and in right where I liked it,” Flores said.

Goodman drove in his second Rockies run of the game in the bottom of the inning, but Webb got the classic 6-3 double play to end the threat.

But just like Webb, the Giants bullpen was unable to figure out Goodman, who smoked his 27th home run of the season a whopping 440 feet to cut the Giants advantage to 5-4 in the seventh inning.

It did not take long for San Francisco to respond. Patrick Bailey hit his third home run of the season in the top of the eighth to give San Francisco a 7-4 lead.

The Giants have now hit a home run in 16 consecutive games, tying the team’s San Francisco-era record.

Robbie Ray (10-6, 3.18 ERA) is expected to start on Wednesday.