SF Giants' finale with rival Dodgers gets chippy after hit by pitch, ‘dirty' slide
SAN FRANCISCO - The benches never cleared. No one was pushed. No punches were thrown. Giants ace Logan Webb hitting the Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing with a pitch, as well as Rushing’s subsequent hard slide into shortstop Willy Adames, pale in comparison to the clashes between San Francisco and Los Angeles in the past.
Still, it’s impossible to deny that there was a reading on the chipiness scale this week at Oracle Park.
“It probably was (intentional) and, for me, (Rushing) said what he said,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Rushing being plunked. “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.”
Giants second baseman Luis Arraez said, “I mean, it’s dirty. For me, this is baseball.”
This latest saga between these long-time rivals began in earnest on Monday evening in the bottom of the sixth. With Jung Hoo Lee at first base, Heliot Ramos smashed a single to center field off Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Giants third base coach Hector Borg waved Lee home, trying to take advantage of the wet conditions and a lazy throw back to the infield, but the Dodgers nabbed Lee with feet to spare.
Lee awkwardly slid into home and banged up his quad in the process, a minor ailment that resulted in him being lifted from the game in the eighth inning. As Lee, visibly shaken up, sat on the dirt, Rushing walked back to the Dodgers’ dugout and made a remark, which many on social media interpreted as Rushing saying, “(Expletive) ’em.”
Rushing addressed the clip the following day, saying he didn’t direct his remarks at Lee.
"I have been told about (the clip)," Rushing said Wednesday. "I'm not sure what they made of it. I told everyone that has asked me about it that the first person I asked was (Dodgers infielder) Hyeseong (Kim) to make sure he was okay. It's the biggest thing; that's all that matters. Hopefully, he didn't take it the way it was put out. I'll be sure to say something to him face-to-face tomorrow making sure he's okay. It was nothing really directed at him. He's a great guy."
"Not sure what the media was going through, but I met with Kimmy," Lee said through interpreter Justin Han following Wednesday’s 3-0 win. "Rushing explained that he wanted to make an (apology) if there was any kind of misunderstanding. Baseball's baseball. You can always bump into these kinds of situations."
That appeared to be that - until it wasn’t.
With the Dodgers leading 3-0 in the top of the sixth on Thursday, Webb fired a four-seam fastball into Rushing’s ribs. The Dodgers, for a valid reason, thought the drilling was intentional. When Webb was asked about the clip of Rushing, Webb offered a smirk and said he hadn’t seen it.
Three pitches later, Rushing further fanned the flames when Kim hit a potential double-play ball.
Arraez fielded the grounder and made a quick toss to Adames for the first out. As Adames tried firing a throw to first, Rushing slid and made contact with Adames. Kim beat the throw to first (he was called out), but second base umpire Junior Valentine rewarded the Giants with a double play because of Rushing’s slide.
“That's baseball,” Roberts said. “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. It's nothing against Adames and they turned a double play. It's good baseball. Good, hard-nosed baseball.”
“For me, that’s not good. It’s not good baseball. It’s not clean baseball. Thank God Willy (Adames is) good and we made the double play,” Arraez said.
This is already the second time this season that the Giants have had a dust-up with an opposing team, the other being during their recent series against the Reds. The defining moment of San Francisco getting mixed up with Cincinnati was when left-hander Erik Miller struck out rookie Sal Stewart to end last Thursday’s game, then subsequently ignited a benches-clearing brouhaha.
The Giants and Dodgers won’t have to wait too long to see each other again, slated to meet for a four-game series at Dodger Stadium beginning on May 11. It’s not uncommon for baseball players to hold grudges, and time will tell whether Thursday was the beginning of another chapter in this rivalry.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 5:25 PM.