Giants plunk Paul Goldschmidt after placing Buster Posey on 7-day DL
Apr 11, 2017, 7:59 PM | Updated: Apr 12, 2017, 1:57 pm
Diamondbacks pitcher Taijuan Walker’s fastball to the head of Giants catcher Buster Posey on Monday appeared accidental.
The Giants plunked Walker’s teammate, David Peralta, later on Monday, and San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy insinuated that was perhaps retaliation. But San Francisco was apparently not done — not after the team had to place Posey on the seven-day disabled list before the second game of the series with Arizona on Tuesday.
In the first inning at AT&T Park, pitcher Jeff Samardzija located a 97-mph fastball that struck D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on the rear end.
Payback for Posey?
Giants Samardzija beans Goldy in the ass with a pitch#12Sports pic.twitter.com/gpnxwcEILE— Matthew Johnson⚾️ (@MattyJ12News) April 12, 2017
A day prior, Bochy didn’t deny that the Giants had plunked Peralta.
“Our guy is cruising, having a good game,” Bochy said Monday, according to the San Jose Mercury News. “A pitch got away from him. I’ll leave it at that.”
Samardzija knows the drill, so to speak. No headhunting. Just a 96.7 mph fastball off Goldschmidt's D-Backside.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 12, 2017
The trigger in all this was Walker’s first-inning pitch that struck the right-handed Posey in the temple of the head.
The loss of control on the 94-mph pitch had Walker admittedly “shooken,” and San Francisco players admitted they weren’t pleased after the game. That said, they also said they didn’t believe Walker had done it on purpose.
“As pitchers, we understand we’re responsible for where we throw the ball, whether it’s intentional or not,” Moore said, per the Mercury News. “Nobody is saying he did it on purpose by any means. He missed with a slider earlier. He was having trouble with command. But we’re not going to be happy about it.”
