John Smoltz tried and failed to will Braves to victory on national broadcast against Phillies

There is no better MLB rivalry right now than one featuring the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. These teams have faced off in two consecutive postseasons, and are currently fighting for the NL East division title.

These two NL East rivals split the first two games of this crucial four-game set, making Saturday's third game even more important. The team that would come out on top in that game would at the very least earn a split, which is a solid result considering the competition.

Saturday's game being as crucial as it was meant it was going to be nationally televised on FOX, giving fans all across the country a chance to watch. Normally on national broadcasts, you get an unbiased point of view that you just don't see on regional networks. That wasn't the case on Saturday.

Even with it being nationally televised, it felt like a game on the Braves TV network. Not only was Braves regular play-by-play announcer Brandon Gaudin calling the game, but former Braves pitcher John Smoltz was there too, and he was trying to do literally anything to will Atlanta to a victory.

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John Smoltz tried and failed to will Braves to crucial win vs. Phillies on national broadcast

In Gaudin's defense, he was mostly fine. Sure, it was all Braves, but what else would you expect when it's an all Braves broadcast? Smoltz was the real issue.

If there's anything Smoltz is known for when calling games for FOX, it's favoring the Braves, and bashing those who wouldn't fit into his era.

Smoltz started the broadcast off by getting himself all excited about Whit Merrifield's production since joining the Braves. He was saying Merrifield getting DFA'd by the Phillies was why Philadelphia has slumped recently and why the Braves have taken off.

From Atlanta's perspective, he's right to an extent. Merrifield is far from the only Brave playing well for Atlanta these days, but he has been a catalyst for the Braves, and has even been leading off recently. To say that a guy with a .572 OPS in Philadelphia getting cut is why the Phillies are struggling, though, is just flat-out wrong.

Later in the game, as he always does, Smoltz bashed the home run. He has always been anti-home run, thinking that the only way to win is by stringing hits together. Not only is stringing hits harder to do in the postseason against elite pitching, but home runs have proven to be a godsend for a team like the Phillies. In fact, they out-homered the Braves 11-3 in last season's NLDS. The only game in which the Braves out-homered the Phillies was the one that they won. Who would've thought?

Perhaps the worst instance of Braves bias came on the biggest swing of the night. Edmundo Sosa launched a 450-foot home run to give the Phillies the lead, and they barely spoke about it. In fact, they went back to their interview with Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach mid-trot! Smoltz never said a word.

It was hard to watch the game and not be like this, thanks in large part to Smoltz.

Fortunately for most of America, the Phillies got the win, defeating the Braves 3-0. Philadelphia now leads the NL East by 6.0 games over Atlanta with 26 to play.