Despite Vitello's ejection, Giants beat Rockies thanks to Schmitt's homer, Mahle's start

Justice delos Santos, The Mercury News on Jul 11, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN FRANCISCO — The focus in San Francisco on Saturday was the future after the Giants selected pitcher Jackson Flora, who attended Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Calif., with the fourth overall pick. For all the talk of what’s to come, the team also celebrated a win in the present.

Tyler Mahle pitched seven innings of one-run ball, Casey Schmitt hit a go-ahead three-run home run and JT Brubaker picked up his career save as San Francisco defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-2 on Saturday afternoon at Oracle Park.

An incredibly odd sequence of events led to manager Tony Vitello’s second career ejection in the top of the third inning.

With one out and the Rockies’ Brett Sullivan on third base, Mahle got Mickey Moniak to swing through a first-pitch fastball to get ahead in the count, 0-1. Following the pitch, the Rockies’ third-base coach, Andy González, signaled that Mahle committed a balk.

The umpiring crew gathered and ultimately assessed a balk to Mahle, allowing Sullivan to score. This sequence prompted Vitello to hop out of the dugout and seek an explanation from home plate umpire Lance Barksdale. Following a conversation with Barksdale, Vitello returned to the third-base dugout. Then, things got weird.

Due to the balk, Mahle’s first pitch to Moniak was nullified, making the count 0-0 instead of 0-1. Evidently, the umpiring crew did not properly communicate that the first-pitch strike was wiped out. Following the balk, Mahle got Moniak to whiff at two more fastballs. Mahle thought he struck out Moniak, and Moniak walked back to the first-base dugout. Moniak, however, was called back by Barksdale since the count was only 0-2 because of the nullified strike.

It was at this point that Vitello, clearly incensed, jumped back out of the dugout and gave Barksdale a piece of his mind. Barksdale ejected Vitello, his first early departure since April, and Moniak took advantage of the extra opportunity by hitting a single. Luckily for the Giants, Moniak’s single didn’t come back to bite as Mahle retired the next two batters.

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