Logan Webb Ejected for First Time as Giants Lose to Diamondbacks

For more than 200 big-league appearances, Logan Webb had managed to keep his composure. That streak ended Friday night in San Francisco, where a disputed third inning boiled over and sent the Giants’ veteran pitcher to the showers early — along with his manager.

The Giants dropped a 10-6 decision to the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks, but the final score only told part of the story. The turning point arrived in the third, when a pair of questionable umpiring decisions helped fuel a five-run Diamondbacks rally and triggered the ejections of both Webb and rookie skipper Tony Vitello.

Webb, who had never been tossed in 204 career games, finally heard the heave-ho while defending rookie starter Blade Tidwell from the dugout. Vitello, already riding a short fuse after being ejected twice in three days, joined him after a heated exchange with home-plate umpire Alan Porter.

The trouble began with one out and nobody aboard in the top of the third. Tidwell appeared to have fanned Lars Nootbaar on a borderline pitch, but Porter called it a ball. Catcher Andrew Knizner opted not to challenge, and Nootbaar capitalized by ripping a double. Corbin Carroll followed with a two-run homer, staking Arizona to a 3-2 lead.

The situation escalated two outs later with Geraldo Perdomo on first. Nolan Arenado hit a slow chopper down the third-base line that appeared to settle in foul territory beyond the infield dirt. Third-base umpire Alex MacKay, however, ruled that the ball had passed directly over the bag, making it fair. Because the play involved a judgment call, the Giants had no avenue to challenge it.

San Francisco’s dugout bit its tongue in the moment, but the frustration detonated when Tim Tawa launched a three-run homer off Tidwell, stretching the Diamondbacks’ advantage to 6-2. When the inning finally ended on a James McCann strikeout, Vitello stormed toward Porter with his arms spread wide, mimicking the path of Arenado’s controversial chopper. Porter immediately ran Vitello, who charged out of the dugout to continue the dispute.

Meanwhile, Webb sprinted the length of the bench to rail at MacKay from the dugout railing. In a curious twist, MacKay let Webb’s outburst slide; second-base umpire Roberto Ortiz ultimately delivered the ejection that ended Webb’s streak of 204 games without one.

“I don’t think I get mad at umpires very often,” Webb said afterward. “I thought that inning just didn’t need to happen. So, yeah, I was just letting my frustrations out, sticking up for my guys.”

Webb admitted he had stoked the fire before Vitello got involved. “I was pretty hot,” he said. “I was hot before Tony was and I think I got him hot, and then it kind of escalated from there.”

Vitello told reporters that Porter was specifically irked that the manager had waited until the inning concluded to argue the fair-ball ruling rather than stepping out immediately after the play. Despite the timing dispute, Vitello praised Webb for stepping up for Tidwell, who was making his fifth career start.

Tidwell, who admitted he could not make out much of Vitello’s argument from the mound, had no doubt about Webb’s role. “Webb really took the reins,” Tidwell said. “He earned that one.”

The rookie lefty absorbed his first major-league loss, though he regrouped to deliver two hitless frames after the five-run outburst, completing five innings and sparing the bullpen ahead of Saturday’s split doubleheader.

The Giants refused to fold. Christian Koss clubbed his first home run of the season during a fourth-inning rally that trimmed the deficit to 6-5. The momentum proved short-lived. Spencer Bivens surrendered three runs in the sixth, allowing Arizona to pull away for good.

Amid the defeat, San Francisco found a silver lining in the ninth. Right-hander Braxton Roxby, a 27-year-old undrafted product out of Division II Pittsburgh-Jonestown, authored a perfect inning in his long-awaited major-league debut. Roxby had spent nearly six seasons climbing the minor-league ladder after the Cincinnati Reds originally signed him.

With his family watching from the stands, Roxby induced a foul pop-up from eight-time All-Star Arenado and later punched out Tawa for what appeared to be his first career strikeout. The moment turned briefly surreal when Tawa challenged the call, threatening to erase the milestone via the ABS system. Catcher Drew Cavanaugh, who entered the game after pinch-hitting for Knizner in the fifth, admitted some uncertainty about the location. When the automated review confirmed the pitch was indeed a strike, Roxby breathed easy.

“The ABS confirmation that the pitch was a strike was awesome,” Roxby said. “It was like a second wave of emotions.”

Between the disputed calls, the ejections, and Roxby’s emotional debut, Friday night delivered far more drama than a typical August box score. The Giants will need to regroup quickly, however, with a doubleheader looming and the memory of a chaotic third inning still fresh.