ATLANTA — When Atlanta Braves fans threw debris on the field in the eighth inning of Saturday's home loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, Braves manager Brian Snitker wasn't pleased. He was also ready to make sure that didn't happen again as his team tried to get even in the NLDS matchup on Monday night.
The delay of game happened in the eighth inning when a catcher's interference call was made on Atlanta backstop Sean Murphy. The call awarded J.T. Realmuto first base and, with the bases already loaded, also forced in the third Philadelphia run of the evening.
When Atlanta challenged the call, umpires gathered to review the incident, and the replay was shown on the big screen inside Truist Park. Although the catcher's interference was hard to see on video, umpires held up the call, leading to the protest from Atlanta fans that included empty beer bottles and other pieces of trash littering the outfield.
Atlanta Braves fans scolded by Brian Snitker for throwing debris on the field
"There's no excuse for that," Snitker said after the game, reminding reporters his players were in the field when fans started launching debris. "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 controversial call was part of a frustrating evening for Atlanta fans as the Phillies once again showed that they have the weapons to potentially dispatch the Braves out of the postseason. Atlanta is now 3-8 all-time against Philadelphia in the postseason, including a three-games-to-one loss in the 2022 NLDS that kept the Braves from defending their World Series title.
Atlanta and Philadelphia split the two games at Truist Park in last year's NLDS and went 3-4 against the Phillies at home during the 2023 season.
The Braves have found home-field advantage to not necessarily be an advantage recently against their NL East rivals, and Snitker is hoping that his team not only figures out how to beat the Phillies in Game 2 but can also do it without worrying about what's coming out of the stands.