Giants reliever Strickland apologizes for Game 2 actions

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hunter Strickland apologized Thursday for the way he handled himself in Game 2 of the World Series after allowing yet another postseason home run.

Strickland caused the benches to clear Wednesday night when he shouted at Kansas City’s Salvador Perez after allowing a two-run homer in the sixth inning to Omar Infante in San Francisco’s 7-2 loss.

Strickland first shouted at himself, which caught the attention of Perez, who was going home from second base and shouted back. That led Strickland to yell back at Perez and the benches to clear.

“I’m embarrassed about it,” Strickland said. “I was in the moment. I took it a little too far and my emotions got to me. There’s no hard feelings toward anybody. It’s just what happens. I’m going to own up for what I did.”

The homer was the fifth given up this postseason by Strickland, a hard-throwing rookie who didn’t allow a run in seven innings after being called up from the minors in September. That ties the record for the most allowed by a reliever in a single postseason, set by Milwaukee’s Chris Naverson in 2011.

Strickland gave up three long balls in the division series to Washington and another in the NL Championship Series against St. Louis. He tinkered with a few things and had a strong outing in Game 1 of the World Series, striking out two batters in a perfect inning of relief.

But he ran into trouble again in Game 2.

“He’s had ups and downs,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Two days ago the question was, am I going to use him in sixth or seventh? Now he has a rough outing and that changes. That’s how the game goes. But this is a tough kid. I was proud of how he owned his actions after the game. He stood up and he said, ‘Hey, I made a mistake. I let my emotions lead me there.’ But still, he’s part of this club, and he’s part of this bullpen.”