Benches cleared in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s Giants-Padres game after San Diego reliever Shawn Kelley had words for San Francisco’s Hector Sanchez following a groundout.
Sanchez hit a grand slam in the sixth and rankled the Padres by admiring his work and flipping his bat. Pitcher Dale Thayer, who gave up the big blow, threw his gum at Sanchez as the catcher made his way to first.
Kelley, who had thrown in on Sanchez prior to retiring him, said he found the bat flip disrespectful.
“I guess that’s part of the game now. To me, that’s a little disrespectful, especially to Dale (Thayer).