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Vogelsong Tossed, Skidding Giants Lose 3-1 To Nationals

WASHINGTON (AP) With his team frustrated from a poor road trip, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy thought home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi should've shown more restraint.

Cuzzi felt he had offered plenty.

Bochy and starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong were ejected by Cuzzi in the fifth inning before the Giants bullpen allowed a pair of runs in a 3-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Sunday night.

"I don't know what prompted it," Bochy said of Vogelsong's ejection. "But to me, you've got to be a little patient."

The Giants completed a 0-6 road trip after Vogelsong's first ejection in 11 seasons in the majors. Brandon Crawford hit his 12th home run in defeat.

Washington's Wilson Ramos snapped a tie with a sixth-inning homer off reliever George Kontos (2-1) and added an RBI single in the eighth. Jordan Zimmermann (7-5) allowed a run on three hits in seven innings.

With the game tied at 1-all and Denard Span leading off the fifth inning, Vogelsong threw a 1-2 fastball that Cuzzi called a ball low. Bochy took exception from the dugout and Cuzzi responded.

"Well, he obviously didn't like the 1-2 pitch to Span, and he kind of made a little gesture on the mound and that set off Bochy, and that was pretty much it," Cuzzi said through a pool reporter.

Vogelsong soon began walking toward the plate. Cuzzi ejected Vogelsong.

"I'm kind of torn right now," Vogelsong said. "Don't like putting the team in that situation where I get thrown out and the bullpen has to come in and pick up innings when it's not time for them yet. But at the same time, the emotions, frustrations, everything kind of boiled over."

Said crew chief Gerry Davis: "The ejection was that (Cuzzi) warned him not to come off the mound, and he did."

Bochy came out and was ejected shortly thereafter, dismissed early from the final game of a road trip that saw the Giants lose 3 1/2 games on the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Francisco is four games back, but still a game above .500 despite being mired in its fourth losing streak of five or more games a week before the All-Star break.

"We've had our streaks," Bochy said. "We've had too many this year at this point. We've had good ones, too. A lot of baseball left, but we would like to finish up on a good note here before the break."

DERBY DREAMS?

After learning he was named to his third All-Star team Sunday, Giants catcher Buster Posey said he wouldn't be participating in this year's home run derby, but wouldn't rule it out in the future.

"There's some guys with a few more homers," quipped Posey, who has 14 this year. "I think if I was ever at the point where I was asked, I probably would, but again I'd be kind of nervous, because I don't necessarily try to hit a ton of home runs in BP."

DELAYED DEPARTURE

Rather than return to San Francisco after the game, Bochy and his players chose to stay overnight in Washington and fly back in the morning. Bochy said the Giants will get in around 1 p.m. local time and travel by bus to AT&T Park for Monday night's game against the Mets.

"The red-eye just seems like it flattens us," he said before the game. "Not that we don't look flat now."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Giants: OF Hunter Pence (left wrist tendinitis) took batting practice on the field for the first time since going on the disabled list. ... LHP Jeremy Affeldt (left shoulder strain) has begun playing catch.

UP NEXT

Giants: RHP Chris Heston (8-5, 3.78) no-hit the Mets on June 9 at Citi Field. He opposes them at AT&T Park on Monday night when the Giants open a six-game homestand. Jonathan Niese (3-8, 3.90) pitches for the Mets.

Updated July 6, 2015

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