UPDATE: Gabe Kapler said postgame that he fully supported both Steven Duggar stealing second base in the second inning and Mauricio Dubon’s decision to bunt in the sixth inning when the Giants had double-digit leads. Both incidents upset the Padres bench.
“I full support both of those decisions,” Kapler said. “I support the decision that Duggar made, I support the decision that Dubon made to bunt right there. Our goal is not exclusively to win one game in a series, it’s to try and win the entire series. Sometimes that means trying to get deeper into the opposition’s pen and I understand that many teams don’t love that strategy and I get why.
“It’s something that we talked about as a club before the season, and we were comfortable with that strategy. It’s not to be disrespectful in any way, it’s because we feel it’s the best way to try and win a series.”
Though it looked like Kapler was upset with Dubon as he walked back to the dugout, Kapler said that was not the case at all.
“I said ‘Great job, way to try and get a base hit,” Kapler said.
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The Giants and Padres aren’t exactly getting off on the right foot.
In game two of 19 vs. San Diego this season, San Francisco ticked off the Padres after opening up a large lead through the first two innings.
It started when Steven Duggar stole second base with the Giants up 10-1 in the second inning. This led to complaints from the Padres bench towards first base coach Antoan Richardson. Richardson was tossed at the end of the inning after exchanging words with Padres third base coach Mike Shildt.
Then things got really spicy in the sixth inning, when Mauricio Dubon bunted with the Giants up 11-2. This really got under the skin of Padres manager Bob Melvin, who started yelling towards the SF dugout.
The unwritten rules are a divisive topic in baseball. Some people feel that it is silly to take another team trying to score runs personally at the professional level, while others believe that maintaining a code of respect is important.
The Giants are making it clear where they stand early in the season.
