San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello was ejected in the first inning, hours prior to his team blowing a 9-3 ninth-inning lead.
To no surprise, this was the first time in San Francisco Giants history that they lost when leading by six runs in the ninth inning.
It describes this team's season to a T.
Not even a 9-3 ninth-inning lead is safe for this Giants squad, and that says a lot.
Manager Tony Vitello was ejected in the first inning, so the craziest part is he had to watch all of this unfold from the locker room.
Poor pitching and defensive blunders certainly contributed to their loss against the Cincinnati Reds, but the Giants skipper truly had no idea where to point the blame after this team endured their worst loss in franchise history.
Vitello discusses blowing a 9-3 lead in the ninth inning
"I don't really have a word for it, it's more than unfortunate," Vitello said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic after the loss.
KNBR posted a two-minute video from Vitello's post-game press conference which featured him saying, "We kind of finished how we started with the first pitch of the game, adding more stress to our life than we needed."
Vitello added that his relievers are "a different breed" and said, "it's kind of up to the players on what the mood is and what the response is."
This is far from the first time the Giants have blown a lead this season, but this one is as inexcusable as it gets.
"Come back tomorrow and win," Vitello said in regard to how this team will move forward. "If you don't like something or you're frustrated, then turn it into determination."
Vitello's message to Giants fans
"I understand their disappointment but you can only carry so much. Words aren't going to carry a lot of weight in a situation like this," he said.
Vitello knows the Giants have asked a lot out of Dylan Smith this season, but that doesn't make up for him giving up a pair of earned runs on four hits while only recording one out.
Smith blew his third save of the year and fell to 0-5 during his second year in the big leagues. Coming off a year where he only made seven appearances, he just made his 31st of the year, so fatigue could undoubtedly be part of his struggles in this one, but again, Vitello knows that's no excuse.
The Giants bats came alive in this game as they scored their most runs since Wednesday, July 29, when they put up 16 against the Milwaukee Brewers. The biggest difference is that game resulted in a win, and the number of runs a team scores only matters when they come out on top.
San Francisco's chance to secure their first series win since the end of the 2025 season fell right through their fingers, and now all they can do is go back to the drawing board and regroup ahead of a four-game stretch in three days against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
