The Los Angeles Dodgers were able to bounce back and win their final two games against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park after dropping Friday night’s series opener, capping off the series victory with a 1-0 win on Sunday afternoon.
The game’s only run came in the top of the first inning when Max Muncy launched a homer off Giants starter Madison Bumgarner into McCovey Cove. At an estimated 426 feet, it was Muncy’s longest home run of the season.
After hitting the no-doubt shot, Muncy did what he usually does on home runs, dropping his bat and admiring his home run for a quick second. As has often been the case in the past, Bumgarner took exception with that.
He shouted in Muncy’s direction, gestured and continued to stalk him until home-plate umpire Greg Little directed Bumgarner back toward the mound. Muncy yelled back at Bumgarner as he jogged around the bases.
"If you don't want me to watch the ball, you can get it out of the ocean." 😂@maxmuncy9 on his 1st inning HR off Madison Bumgarner. pic.twitter.com/lBSkGADMQd
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 9, 2019
Muncy largely dismissed the altercation while revealing the advice he gave Bumgarner if he took issue with the home run, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Well I hit the ball and then he yelled at me, ‘Don’t watch the ball. You run.’ I just responded back, ‘If you don’t want me to watch the ball, you can go get it out of the ocean.’ … He kept mouthing off, I told him to come get it. He’s a competitor, he was just fired up about it.”
Bumgarner has had plenty of confrontations with the Dodgers in the past, most notably on multiple occasions with Yasiel Puig, who is no longer with the team.
Major League Baseball is trending in the direction of letting players have more fun and showing more emotion on the field, coining the phrase ‘let the kids play.’
So far, Bumgarner is one of the few pitchers who has not gotten on board and still takes exception when players admire home runs against him. If he wants the issue to stop though, then the best solution would be to not give up home runs in the first place.
Bumgarner did not throw at Muncy in either of his two at-bats after the confrontation, but with the Dodgers and the Giants playing each other 19 times every season, it may be something to keep an eye on moving forward.
The Dodgers next welcome the Giants to town for a four-game series from June 17-20.
