PHILADELPHIA >> The game had ended, but there were words left to be said.

As the Giants (13-6) walked back to their clubhouse following a 6-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies (11-8) to split a four-game series, a scrum of players and coaches found themselves engaged in a spirited conversation with home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi. The back-and-forth lasted roughly two minutes. Then, both sides went their separate ways.

On most days, this scene would’ve been abnormal. On an afternoon where Giants starter Jordan Hicks beefed with the Phillies — after allowing five runs over seven innings — and Cuzzi took exception to a perceived slight from San Francisco center fielder Jung Hoo Lee, one final kerfuffle felt strangely apropos.

“The umpire had a sensitive game,” Lee said through team interpreter Justin Han.

Cuzzi’s confrontation with the Giants derived from a misunderstanding in the top of the ninth inning. Lee took a 1-1 pitch from the Phillies’ Jose Alvarado for a strike, then adjusted his helmet. Cuzzi thought Lee was arguing the call since he saw Lee tap his helmet, which is how hitters challenged calls during spring training.

“Anybody that watches the Giants games knows that every pitch, I adjust my helmet. It’s every pitch,” Lee said. “I told him, ‘I don’t speak English.’ Umpire said something. I kept on saying, ‘I don’t speak English.’ I think that’s what happened.”

“We’re not letting them tap their heads,” crew chief and third base umpire Dan Bellino told the pool reporter after the game. “That would be arguing balls and strikes. So, it’s the same as arguing balls and strikes. I’m not saying that’s what he was doing or not. Phil was telling him, ‘Hey, you can’t tap your head right after a pitch that you disagree with because it looks as though you’re arguing balls and strikes.’ But, obviously, with the language barrier there, I don’t know if Lee really understood what he was saying. I think that was part of the miscommunication.”

When Cuzzi approached the Giants after the game, Lee reiterated that he doesn’t speak English and didn’t understand what was going on. According to Lee, Cuzzi told him that it was bad timing and left shortly after.

Why had it been bad timing? That answer lies in the previous eight innings.

In the bottom of the second, Hicks hit Trea Turner with an errant 100.9 mph sinker. Turner wasn’t happy. Turner’s teammates weren’t happy. Philadelphia’s bench had some words for Hicks, who was already a bit perturbed after allowing five runs in the first inning. Soon enough, Hicks would be even more upset.

In the fourth, Hicks fired a 100 mph sinker to the Phillies’ Alec Bohm. Cuzzi granted Bohm time right as Hicks was beginning to throw. Hicks expressed displeasure with Cuzzi granting Bohm time, and the two exchanged words before Hicks stepped back on the rubber. Hicks induced a double play on the next pitch, but was still frustrated. So much so that third baseman Matt Chapman went to the mound to calm his pitcher.