On Tuesday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves went up 1-0 in their Wild Card playoff series vs the Philadelphia Phillies thanks to a late home run from Austin Riley, winning by a score of 5-3. The Braves will now look to close out the series on Wednesday and set up a matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
On the call for NBC was former MLB star Joey Votto, who bizarrely wondered aloud if the Phillies had “won the series” after they scored one (1) run on Chris Sale in the top of the first inning.
Now, Votto has taken to social media to attempt to explain the interesting take.
“My rationale: get ahead vs Sale early with Luzardo on the mound (win probability was likely 60% at that point). Taking Game 1 in a 3 game usually means series win (15/16 historically). Sanchez and Wheeler next. Thought Duran would come in early like he did. Almost,” wrote Votto on X, formerly Twitter.
Still, fans in the comment section were not exactly buying the explanation.
Article Continues Below“So…. A one run lead in the top of the first? Braves at Home? Sale on the mound? 8.5 left to play?” wondered one fan.
“Joey needs to call in sick today. His comments about n air yesterday didn’t contribute anything but bad takes,” wrote another.
It was certainly a strange moment on the broadcast when Votto made the comments, and while the Phillies still are alive in their series, they'll have to overcome some historical precedent in order to do so, as 15 of the 16 teams who have lost Game 1 of a Wild Card series have gone on to lose the series as a whole.
In any case, Game 2 between the Phillies and Braves is set for Wednesday at 2:00 pm ET from Atlanta.