Diamondbacks fans prove John Smoltz wrong in record timing during Game 4
By Mark Powell
Give Arizona Diamondbacks fans some credit -- they showed out for their team so far this series, selling out both Games 3 and 4. However, when things turned south during a bullpen game in Game 4, it's tough to blame them for choosing not to stick around.
Arizona's pitching staff is spent and they're out of options. Rather than turning to Ryne Nelson to start, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo instead trusted his bullpen -- a supposed edge for this team heading into the playoffs. Unfortunately, it was Rangers manager Bruce Bochy who instead had the edge thanks to starting pitcher Andrew Heaney.
Heaney threw five solid innings, while Arizona's bullpen floundered prior to Nelson, giving up over 10 runs, including two separate five-run frames early. There was no coming back from that for the Snakes bats. So, fans opted to leave Chase Field early and beat the traffic home.
The Texas Rangers have sent Diamondbacks fans streaming for the exits in the 8th, as they close in on a 3-1 series lead pic.twitter.com/WbIrdVhCqu
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) November 1, 2023
Diamondbacks fans prove John Smoltz wrong
FOX announcer and former Braves pitcher John Smoltz had previously just praised Arizona fans for staying at Chase Field despite the blowout. Rangers fans quickly noticed this, and took to social media in hopes of bashing the MLB legend, who they believe has been unfairly criticizing the Rangers all series long.
Rangers lost the ALCS MVP and a future HOF pitcher today, went up 10-0 in the first three innings, and John Smoltz is out here talking about how resilient the Diamondbacks are…
— Ass Tat Guy (@garkmallemore) November 1, 2023
“The Rangers are gonna need another 5 runs if they have any hope of winning this game.”
— Zach Roe (@_ZROE) November 1, 2023
-John Smoltz pic.twitter.com/DjDoP6V4CD
Rangers up 10-1 in the 7th in a game that would give them a 3-1 series lead, and John Smoltz is talking about the problems the Rangers face in not having a good starting pitcher for Game 7.
— Adam J. Morris (@lonestarball) November 1, 2023
Smoltz is a reasonable analyst when he's not talking about analytics, as he's just trying to spin a bad game forward. Texas can win the World Series on Wednesday night. Surely they'll receive plenty of praise from the broadcast booth should they close things out.
OK Twitter. I'll give you John Smoltz gushing over the crowd here has been a bit much
— Chuck Cooperstein (@coopmavs) November 1, 2023
"Gotta give it to this Arizona Crowd they have stuck it out" John smoltz https://t.co/L6I9Or8Bjz
— Ryan Eastwood (@eastwood1_9) November 1, 2023
According to Smoltz, no D-backs fans had left. What a clown.😂😂😂
— Isaac David Saenz (@isaacdsaenz) November 1, 2023
To be fair to Smoltz, the majority of Diamondbacks fans did stay in their seats. However, given the score of the game, it was fair to expect some to leave. Smoltz is an entertainer, as if the rest of the FOX broadcast booth. They need fans to watch this series, especially considering viewership is at an all-time low.
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