Tony Vitello's latest ejection speaks to bigger issue as Reds stun SF Giants

Some baseball games you simply feel the need to write about. The SF Giants play 162 games a year and most of them aren’t all that memorable in the grand scheme of things. When you watch enough baseball, it takes something truly jarring to stick in your brain for years and that’s exactly what Wednesday’s loss to the Cincinnati Reds will do.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Manager Tony Vitello got tossed in the first inning for arguing a call. He wasn’t even that out of line but it was another instance of an umpire having a quick trigger with Vitello and tossing him early.

We saw Vitello show a little more fire when getting tossed this time but this just speaks to the bigger issue of respect. Umpires don’t seem to respect Vitello. At times it has been fair to wonder if players on the Giants respect Vitello.

Don’t expect Vitello to turn into Rodney Dangerfield and start tugging at his collar at the podium but it’s clear that this is going to continue to be and issue. The “pay your dues” crowd is quite large in MLB and that’s simply something Vitello is going to have to contend with until he has a lot of years under his belt in the big leagues which, at this rate, doesn’t seem all that likely.

Giants blew game vs. Reds in the most 2026 way possible

After that, the Giants scored a bunch of runs. Rafael Devers smashed a ball into McCovey Cove as he continues his heater. Drew Gilbert, after seemingly getting thrown at intentionally on Tuesday night, smacked a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the eighth to give the Giants a seemingly insurmountable lead, at least based on the entire history of the franchise.

Gilbert had some words for the Reds’ dugout after his double and he had a very big series for the Giants which will only boost his chances to be a big part of next year’s team.

Some other positives before the Big Negative: Shay Whitcomb hit a home run and Turner Hill has looked really solid. Good on you boys! Now onto the negative.

The Giants entered the ninth inning with a 9-3 lead. They hadn’t lost a game in the ninth inning with a six run lead ever, not in New York, not in Son Francisco, never, and yet Spencer Bivens and Dylan Smith teamed up to blow it, giving up seven runs as the Giants went down 10-9 in a game that just perfectly encapsulates the 2026 Giants.

There was promise. There was some fire. There was hope. Yet it ended with a bullpen collapse, sloppy play, and just a general sense of disgust. All on my sister’s birthday, no less. She deserved so much better.

At least none of it matters. The Giants are only playing for pride at this point. Oops, sorry, not that Pride. Didn’t mean to upset Landen Roupp, Sam Hentges, and Ryan Walker. 

This might be the most anti-pride and anti-Pride team we have ever seen. No pride in the product on the field, no support for fans in the LGBTQ community. Just all around Pride-less in every way imaginable.

It’s just so fitting for this group, and to top it all off Logan Webb got robbed of a win even though he pitched well because of course he did.

I’ll say it again: some games are so wild you just have to write about it. So it was earlier this year when Bryce Eldridge hit a walk-off grand slam in a game the Giants had no business winning. Even though the baseball gods have kicked the Giants below the belt all season long, Wednesday’s game was just another for good measure.

With Vitello’s ejection reinforcing a negative narrative around him and this team just generally looking hapless, it’s hard to be optimistic about the future. I guess all we can do is keep watching. Somehow there’s still a month left in this season from the netherworld and if we have learned anything about the Giants this year, if you think they’ve hit rock bottom, they are going to keep on digging.

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