Giants' Webb denies throwing at Dodgers' Rushing; Arraez calls slide 'dirty'

It's only April, but the Los Angeles Dodgers-San Francisco Giants rivalry appears to be heating up once again.

In the sixth inning of Thursday's game, Giants ace Logan Webb hit Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing in the ribs with a fastball. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts felt that the HBP was intentional, serving as retaliation for an incident that occurred earlier in the series.

"It probably was (intentional) and, for me, (Rushing) said what he said," Roberts said after his team's 3-0 win Thursday, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic. "I don't think he meant it too personally. But they see it. Social media catches it. Webby's an old-school guy, and he's protecting his teammates."

Cameras caught Rushing purportedly uttering an expletive in the direction of Jung Hoo Lee, who sustained an injury on a play at the plate during Tuesday's game. After the game, Rushing denied having done so and said he'd asked his Dodgers teammate and Lee's fellow Korean Hyeseong Kim about the status of the Giants outfielder, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Webb, meanwhile, rejected the notion that he hit Rushing on purpose to avenge his teammate.

"What thing with Jung Hoo? I didn't even see that," Webb said when asked about the HBP, per NBC Sports Bay Area. He added that he was simply trying to throw an inside fastball.

Other Giants, however, were openly angry with Rushing after Thursday's game for a different reason. Moments after he was hit by Webb, the Dodgers backstop broke up a double play with a hard slide into shortstop Willy Adames.

(Video source: MLB.com)

"The umpire said it's a double play because he slid into Willy's feet. For me, that's not good," second baseman Luis Arraez told Justice delos Santos of MLB.com. "It's not good baseball. It's not clean baseball. ... I mean, it's dirty."

Rushing, who again denied saying anything about Lee on Thursday, seemed unbothered by the Giants' feelings toward him or his aggressive play.

"It's nothing against those guys. Hopefully the air is cleared. Hopefully they got out what they wanted to," Rushing said, per Woo. "And I enjoy getting on base, so (it) doesn't bother me."

The next meeting between the longtime rivals will be a four-game series from May 11-14 at Dodger Stadium.