The San Francisco Giants appeared poised to escape with a tightly contested victory Tuesday night before a disastrous ninth inning allowed the Arizona Diamondbacks to rally for a 5-3 win.

Following the game, manager Tony Vitello pointed directly at his own late-game decision making while also crediting his club for battling throughout the night.

San Francisco had relied heavily on its defense and bullpen execution to carry a narrow lead into the final frame. However, the inning quickly unraveled after Arizona opened the inning with a baserunner and continued to apply pressure.

“Obviously get a guy on base,” Vitello said. “Lefty hits the line drive to center, and then we’ve got a runner at first. They decide to take a chance and go for a stolen base at second base, and the catcher’s interference gets called.”

The controversial catcher’s interference ruling became one of the turning points of the inning, though Vitello admitted he did not receive much clarification from the umpiring crew afterward.

“Not really,” Vitello said when asked whether the umpires explained the decision. “He’s standing up trying to throw the guy out.”

With Arizona threatening, Vitello was forced into a difficult matchup situation against Ketel Marte, the Diamondbacks’ switch-hitting star. Reliever Caleb Killian had already thrown 25 pitches, prompting the manager to go to a fresh arm out of the bullpen. The move backfired as Arizona capitalized late to take control.

“At that point, Killian had 25 pitches,” Vitello explained. “Went with a fresh arm, different look, and made the wrong decision. Cost us the game.”

Despite the frustrating finish, Vitello defended reliever Matt Gage, noting the left-hander has consistently delivered in critical situations this season.

“Gage has gotten it done for us more times than not,” Vitello said. “Obviously it’s on me.”

The late collapse overshadowed what had been one of the Giants’ sharper defensive performances in recent games. San Francisco turned multiple key double plays in the seventh and eighth innings to preserve the lead and keep Arizona’s offense in check.

“It was an unbelievable effort by those guys defensively,” Vitello said. “Also some guys coming in and making pitches.”

Vitello also praised his starter for giving the club a strong outing and positioning the bullpen for a potential win late in the game.

“He was great,” Vitello said. “He got us to the point of the game where you’d love to have a couple-run lead deep into the game and be able to use your best guys at the end.”

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