San Francisco Giants' early lead slipped away alongside Tony Vitello's composure as they dropped a third straight loss to the Mets.
San Francisco Giants’ first-year manager hit a notable milestone on Sunday, but certainly not the kind that San Francisco was hoping for. Vitello was ejected for the first time in his MLB career during a 5-2 loss to the visiting New York Mets. It marked the Giants’ third consecutive defeat. Vitello got into it with plate umpire Edwin Jimenez and third-base umpire David Rackley in the seventh after Jerar Encarnacion was ruled out for running inside the designated lane. In what Vitello said was him “stating the rules,” the last thing he uttered out of frustration is what got him tossed.
The Mets took that momentum and turned it from San Francisco leading 2-1 to a four-run rally in the eighth to go up 5-2. In doing so, the Giants fell to 3-7 on the campaign and a measly 1-6 home record. It’s been a difficult start for Vitello in his first stint as an MLB manager after serving as the Tennessee Volunteers head baseball coach last season. Vitello has called out the club for a series of correctible mistakes that have spelled their recent stretch. That’s something that clearly boiled over in Sunday’s loss.
Here is the full story from Giants Roundtable writer Anthony Arroyo on the ejection and the troublesome loss for SF.
The Giants will look to get right against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, where Vitello will send winless Adrian Houser (0-1) to the mound against righty Andrew Painter (1-0). It’s still early in the year. But the pattern is worrisome for San Francisco, and they’ll need a turnaround fast.