Rewind: Crawford makes D'backs pay for throwing at Posey

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SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Crawford entered Friday’s game with 55 career homers in the big leagues, and he had shown excess emotion after one of them, a walk-off against the Rockies two years ago. He has long believed that a bat flip should be saved for a walk-off -- but it turns out there’s an exception.

If you throw at Buster Posey, the Giants’ leader and one of Crawford’s best friends, you’d better be ready for what comes next. 

Crawford was on deck when Arizona’s Patrick Corbin threw two pitches at Posey in an attempt to apparently avenge an earlier Jeff Samardzija pitch that hit Jean Segura. He missed twice. Crawford didn’t. He crushed a game-tying two-run shot that jolted the Giants and led them to a 6-2 win.

“I don’t know what they were thinking throwing at Buster, but I think it was pretty obvious,” Crawford said. “That kind of fired me up. I wanted to make them pay. I’m not going to sugarcoat it.”

Crawford gently tossed his bat aside and took a couple of slow steps. He certainly savored the trip around the bases, and the dugout enjoyed every step, too. The Giants were surprised by Corbin’s attempts. They’ve been playing against him for years, and while the Diamondbacks have fought with the Dodgers, the San Francisco-Arizona tilts have generally been peaceful. 

The Giants had no doubt, however, that Corbin was trying to hit Posey. They were surprised at how obvious it looked. Manager Bruce Bochy was livid when home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott warned both benches, arguing instead that Corbin should be ejected on the spot. 

“I mean, come on,” said Bochy, who was ejected for arguing. “And I understand, Segura has been hit, I guess, a few times. (But) we're in the business of winning games here and we’re down two runs and a man on first — I understand they’re not happy their guy got hit but I can’t have Buster being a target. 

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“He threw once at him and throws another one that’s up high at his back. I mean, that’s enough. I just had enough of it. That’s when guys get hurt. Come on. I don’t know who called it, but it’s about playing the game. Guys get upset when guys get hit, I get it. But I can’t have him up there with a pitcher who keeps firing at him.”

Corbin might have been better off watching the rest from the clubhouse. An inning after Crawford took him deep, a Jake Lamb error led to two more runs. Corbin walked a run home in the fifth. 

On the other side, Samardzija settled in, retiring 14 of 15 after hitting Segura on a pitch that he said was very similar to the one hit for a home run in the first inning. Samardzija wouldn’t admit that Corbin fired him up as well, offering only that it was something the whole team fed off of in the middle of a long season.

“It’s cool to see everyone get fired up,” he said. 

Samardzija handed it over to the bullpen, and Derek Law and Sergio Romo proved dominant in getting the lead to the ninth. Hunter Strickland took over from there, with the Giants winning for the 19th time in their last 23 games against a NL West opponent. 

The Diamondbacks haven’t been a bitter rival, but on this night they woke up a team that doesn’t need much motivation to pull away from you. Crawford’s blast got it started, and he certainly enjoyed it. 

“For the regular season, that one was up there,” he said. 

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