Giants manager cracks Rafael Devers joke after game-tying home run
· Yahoo Sports
Nothing lightens the mood quite like a walk-off win.
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After Rafael Devers and Victor Bericoto both hit solo home runs Wednesday to lead San Francisco to a walk-off win, Giants manager Tony Vitello cracked a joke about Devers in his postgame press conference.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t say the best coaching moment of the night was we told Rafi if he got on first, we were going to pinch-run for him,” Vitello said of Devers’ ninth-inning at-bat.
Instead, Devers hit a solo home run to tie the game.
The joke referenced Sunday’s game in which Devers waved off a pinch runner after getting onto first in the ninth inning. The action spawned backlash for the former Red Sox player and led to an apology from Devers to Vitello.
Both Vitello and Devers said that Devers thought he was being removed from the game because of some lingering hamstring soreness, not because of his speed. Devers added that he did not mean any disrespect when he waved off the pinch runner.
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey spoke to the media Tuesday. He stated that Devers, who did not address the situation himself until before Tuesday’s game, needed to work on taking accountability.
“I think everybody has to be themselves,” Posey said. “I do think ultimately he understands there’s got to be some accountability. Sometimes it’s not fun. It’s not fun to stand in front of a camera or a microphone, but that’s something he’s going to need to work on.”
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