Former Tennessee Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello, who is in his first season as the manager of the San Francisco Giants, did not have a fun experience in Philadelphia this past week.

Vitello’s first trip to Philly as a big league manager resulted in the Giants’ getting swept by the Philadelphia Phillies in a three game series.

The Giants, in fact, were walked off twice in one day by the Phillies — thanks in part to some questionable decisions by Vitello in both games of a double-header, who is clearly still learning on the job.

Giants general manager Zack Minasian comments on Tony Vitello

Vitello’s had an uneven start to his big league managing career. The Giants have struggled to find consistency and, as of Saturday, they’re in last place in the NL West.

San Francisco general manager Zack Minasian, however, isn’t losing faith in Vitello.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Minasian admitted that the series against the Phillies was “rough”, and he wishes the team had more wins, but he’s also confident in Vitello.

“I try not to make too much out of three games, that’s a small sample,” said Minasian. “I wish I was thick-skinned enough to say I don’t worry about it, but I think it’s just the nature of these positions. You’re always wanting to do better as a front office. We always want to make a positive impact. But I think a lot of it goes back to the fact that there is preparation, a lot of hard work and you just hope and are confident that things will turn.”

“I think Tony’s been great, the staff’s been great,” continued Minasian. “Obviously, I wish we had more wins. Yesterday was a tough day, but it felt like the first week, 10 days was really tough. Then we started to play more up to who we all thought we were.

“You go into Philly and you have a rough series; it happens. I think guys are prepared. I think Tony’s formed a really good bond with the players, and I think everyone’s working together. There are peaks and valleys to every season. Hopefully, this is a valley and after that comes the peak.”

One month of regular season baseball isn’t enough time to get a gauge on Vitello as a big league manager — especially considering the adjustment period he’s facing after spending his entire adult life in the college game.