Flared emotions and bean balls as Giants top Marlins

Buster Posey homered and then got involved in a beanball war that prompted the ejection of Miami starting pitcher Dan Straily and manager Don Mattingly, helping the San Francisco Giants to extract a small measure of revenge over the Marlins with a 6-3 victory Tuesday night in San Francisco. Posey's home run, his fifth of the season, came on Straily's seventh pitch of the game and gave the Giants a lead they never relinquished. Then the fireworks began. After Giants starter Dereck Rodriguez plunked Lewis Brinson, one of the heroes of Miami's come-from-behind win Monday, in the top of the second inning, both pitchers and benches were warned to avoid further retaliation. The warning was in response to a war of words between Brinson and Giants closer Hunter Strickland on the field during Miami's three-run, ninth-inning rally Monday. Strickland had knocked down Brinson with a first-pitch fastball earlier in the inning, presumably because the Marlin had been deemed to have celebrated too much during Miami's run of three straight wins against the Giants last week. After walking past Brinson and getting in a few choice final words, Strickland, who recorded his fourth blown save of the season, then proceeded to punch a door in the Giants' clubhouse, breaking his right hand. He is expected to be out 6-8 weeks. Mattingly complained to the umpires after they'd warned his team even though it was Brinson who was hit Tuesday night, closing his argument by saying to Posey, "You're next." Sure enough, after the Giants had increased their lead to 3-0 in the third inning, Straily nailed Posey, resulting in the pitcher's ejection, as well as his manager's. Down 4-0, the Marlins rallied within one run in the fourth inning on a two-run triple by JT Riddle and RBI double by Brian Anderson. But that was the last of the Miami scoring against Rodriguez and four Giants relievers, while San Francisco added insurance runs on RBI doubles by Alen Hanson and Gorkys Hernandez in the fifth. Rodriguez (2-1) got the win, allowing three runs and seven hits in five innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. Giants relievers Ty Blach, Mark Melancon, Will Smith and Sam Dyson followed Rodriguez with four innings of one-hit, shutout relief. Dyson registered his second save of the season by getting the last two outs of the ninth inning. Straily (2-3) got the loss in his aborted effort, allowing four runs and four hits in 1 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one. Hernandez, who hit his eighth home run of the season in the second inning, had three hits and drove in three runs for the Giants, who won for just the second time in six meetings with the Marlins this season. Hanson chipped in with three hits, including a pair of doubles, while Andrew McCutchen and Pablo Sandoval added a pair of hits apiece for San Francisco, which won for just the third time in its last nine games. Riddle had two hits and two RBIs for the Marlins, who fell to 3-2 on their nine-game trip. The Giants out-hit the Marlins 11-8. --Field Level Media