Kapler’s ironic bunting comment resurfaces after odd Belt attempt originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
What Brandon Belt did — or attempted to do — with the bat in the Giants’ 5-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night at Oracle Park dominated the postgame conversation.
In the bottom of the seventh inning with San Francisco trailing by five runs, the Giants’ first baseman attempted to bunt for a hit with two outs, two strikes, and two runners on base.
The move was rather head-scratching given the hole the Giants found themselves in. After the game, Belt told reporters that he was trying to extend the inning any way he could after struggling against Arizona starter Zac Gallen on Thursday.
“He was really good today,” Belt said postgame. “He didn’t miss a whole lot and I wasn’t doing much with it. From my point of view, I’ve been struggling a little bit. He was tough all day … I took the best route that I thought would keep the inning going. I’m not saying I’m right about that, but that was the decision I made.
“I feel very comfortable bunting. I wanted to keep that inning going. I just didn’t get it down. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
Manager Gabe Kapler threw his support behind Belt, stressing that he trusts both Belt and Brandon Crawford “completely” after both veterans attempted to bunt for a hit against Gallen.
Shortly after the game, an old clip of Kapler from 2018, when he was the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, resurfaced. He seemingly criticized Belt for squaring around to bunt with a 3-1 count in a game between the Giants and Phillies.
Kapler appeared to have said something along the lines of “What’s this? With a 3-1 count? You’re hitting fourth for the Giants, swing!”
One thing that Kapler has stressed throughout his time with the Giants has been to do things that make your opponent uncomfortable, exactly what Belt did against Gallen and also back in 2018 against his Phillies.
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Obviously, the two situations are different in the sense that a struggling Belt was looking to extend the inning and load the bases with his team trailing by five runs, compared to his attempt in the scoreless game against Philadelphia four years ago. Not to mention that the count, outs, and runners on base were all different as well.
If nothing else, there at least is a little bit of irony in Kapler’s past comments about Belt’s decision against the Phillies. To this day, Belt continues to hit in the heart of the Giants’ order and more often than not, will look to swing away and drive the ball regardless of the situation.
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