Watch: Phillies get run, Braves fans litter field after controversial call
The Philadelphia Phillies were awarded a huge insurance run in the eighth inning of their National League Division Series game against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night when catcher Sean Murphy was called for a controversial catcher's interference call.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, Philadelphia's J.T. Realmuto fouled off a pitch on what looked to be a routine play.
But as soon as he fouled the pitch off, home plate umpire Brian O'Nora immediately called catcher's interference and awarded Realmuto first base. That also forced in a run to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead.
Where things get controversial is when the Braves challenged the play.
None of the replay angles definitively show Realmuto's bat hitting Murphy's glove. Despite that, it was ruled that the call on the field would stand.
That decision did not sit well with a few Braves fans who decided to litter the outfielder with cans and bottles, delaying the game for a few minutes.
Setting aside the fans throwing things for a second, this is a fascinating situation. The replays are not at all conclusive, and if anything they make it look like Realmuto's bat never actually hit the glove.
But Murphy seemed to immediately react like he did get hit, and then did not seem to argue the call or protest it much. Also the umpire's statement that the call "will stand" as opposing to "confirming" it seemed to indicate the league had no conclusive angles and decided to simply go with whatever was called on the field.
As for the fans, this is not the first time Braves fans have reacted to a controversial call in a playoff game this way. It was back in 2012 when they littered the field even worse following an in-field fly rule call that cost them a potentially big inning.
In this case, however, the call did not really matter much. Atlanta's league-best offense was not able to produce a single run on Saturday night in a 3-0 loss that gives the Phillies a 1-0 series lead.
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