The Atlanta Braves had a rough first game of the postseason. With the No. 1 seed in the National League and a first-round bye, the Braves' bats were silent as they lost 3-0. But, there was controversy surrounding a catcher's interference call in the eighth inning that allowed the Phillies to increase their lead by a run.
On a swing-and-a-miss by Phillies catcher JT Realmuto, he looked at home plate umpire Brian O'Nora, appearing to look for the catcher's interference call. And O'Nora did just that, allowing Trea Turner to walk in to score Philadelphia's third run. When looking at the replay, there was no conclusive visual evidence that Murphy's glove interfered with Realmuto's bat. That caused Braves fans at Truist Park to throw beer cans and bottles on the field, delaying the game.
According to Zach Klein of WSB-Channel 2, Murphy said that O'Nora made the correct call, saying that while he didn't feel his glove make contact with Realmuto's bat, he did hear contact being made.
Sean Murphy says controversial catcher's interference was the correct call
No arguments from Murphy after the game.
After the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker expressed his disappointment in the fans for throwing garbage on the field and delaying the game.
"There's no excuse for that," Snitker said. "I've been on that field when that's happened and it's scary because those water bottles when they come, they're like grenades, and it could really seriously injure one of our players. That's uncalled for."
The Braves were shutout in their first game since last Sunday. Spencer Strider pitched a strong game for Atlanta, throwing seven innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits, and striking out eight batters. But the issue for Atlanta was their inability to knock in runners on base.
Atlanta had five hits in the game, and five at-bats with runners in scoring position. In those situations, the Braves were 0-for-5, and left seven players stranded.
The Braves will look to even the series on Sunday at 6:07 p.m. ET, live on TBS.
