San Francisco Giants second baseman Luis Arraez was frustrated with Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing’s reckless and deliberate slide into Giants shortstop Willy Adames during the series finale at Oracle Park on Thursday. The Dodgers achieved a 3-0 shutout win to avoid a sweep, but Rushing has been the talk in San Francisco since Tuesday’s series opener.
The incident happened in the sixth inning, with Rushing at the plate, one out, and Giants starter Logan Webb pitching. Webb threw a fastball that hit Rushing in the ribs, and Rushing then walked to first base. Next, Hyeseong Kim hit an infield grounder. Arraez quickly relayed the ball to Adames, who then threw to Rafael Devers for a double play.
Although the play was clear, Rushing intentionally slid two feet away from the bag and directly into Adames to interfere. Luckily, the situation didn’t escalate, as both players calmly returned to their dugouts. Different opinions emerged about the event, with Arraez criticizing Rushing’s slide as “not good baseball.”
“The umpire said it’s a double play because he slid into Willy’s feet. For me, that’s not good. It’s not good baseball. It’s not clean baseball. I mean, it’s dirty. For me, this is baseball,” Arraez said in the post-game interview.
Earlier in the series opener, Rushing appeared to say “F— em” in a viral clip after Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee got hurt on a play at the plate that ended the inning. Rushing was quick to deny the claims and even clarified the matter in the California Post after the match.
“Hopefully, he didn’t take it the way it was put out. There was nothing really directed at him. He’s a great guy. … I used a word, but it was not what [people thought] was said,” Rushing said.
He even went out of his way to apologize to Lee through Kim.
What Did Dave Roberts Have to Say About Rushing’s HBP and Luis Arraez’s Assessment of the Same?
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called Rushing’s hit-by-pitch an intentional deed by Webb. Furthermore, Roberts exclaimed that he understood Webb was trying to protect his teammates by taking an affirmative stand himself.
“It probably was [on the HBP] and, for me, [Rushing] said what he said. I don’t think he meant it too personally. But they see it. Social media catches it. Webby’s an old school guy, and he’s protecting his teammates,” Roberts said.
Next, Roberts weighed in on Arraez’s comments about Rushing’s slide into Adames.
“I liked that too. That’s baseball. They’re going to hit you. Webby’s got really good command. I get it. They’ll deny it. No problem. And I liked the way he went in hard. They turned a double play. It’s good baseball. Good, hard-nosed baseball,” Roberts said.
While it was a feisty and intriguing series between the two intra-divisional rivals, the Dodgers and Giants will meet again in a thrilling series at Dodger Stadium from May 11-14.
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