Tony Vitello ejected before the good part of Giants win vs Rockies

SAN FRANCISCO — In a game that began with a three-man umpiring crew, less than 24 hours after all hell broke loose on a catch/no catch call, Tony Vitello had every reason to be confused.The Giants’ manager came out of the third base dugout to have a word with the umpires twice in the span of a few pitches early Saturday afternoon, and the second time got him tossed.Vitello was ejected for the second time in his career in the third inning of an eventual 4-2 win, after confusion over a balk led to the Rockies’ first run and further chaos ensued when what at first appeared to be a strikeout was wiped out and eventually turned into a single.It all started when Tyler Mahle was called for a late balk after Brett Sullivan led off the inning and made it to third.Sullivan was awarded home, giving Colorado a 1-0 lead.

Although the reasoning for the call wasn’t immediately made clear, it appeared to have to do with Mahle not declaring whether he would pitch out of the windup or the stretch.However, it wasn’t home plate umpire and crew chief Lance Barksdale who first raised the issue.It came from the Rockies’ third base coach, Andy Gonzalez, and led to a long talk that apparently made the umpires come around to Colorado’s view of things.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story That prompted Vitello’s first entreaty onto the field of play.

He barked at Barksdale and got some clarity, even if it wasn’t what he wanted to hear.What brought him out for a second time, and led to his ejection, was that the pitch Mahle was ruled to have balked on — strike one to Moniak — was nullified by the balk.

That, however, wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard.Even Moniak was so sure he struck out a few pitches later that he retreated to his dugout.But he was ...