Phillies Analyst Calls Loss to Orioles an 'embarrassment to Baseball'

Entering the 2020 MLB season, the Philadelphia Phillies were expected to contend with some of the best teams in baseball. The Baltimore Orioles, on the other hand, had many believing it would be another long year of the rebuild.

Tuesday night's matchup between the two teams looked nothing like those predictions, as it was the Phillies who lost the game in an ugly fashion. A head-shaking error and the surrender of an inside-the-park home run in extra innings had Philadelphia sports media and fans up in arms and gripping their pitchforks.

NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst and former MLB reliever Ricky Bottalico was one of them, and he did not hold back when describing the performance he saw on the field.

https://twitter.com/NBCSPhilly/status/1293385187791908864

"They didn't deserve to win this game," Bottalico said. "They deserved to lose this game."

"I thought this game was an embarrassment to baseball. I felt like the Bad News Bears stuff today," Bottalico said.

Specifically, he was referring to two major moments in the contest. The first came in the top of the ninth with the game tied at 6-6 and the bases loaded with two outs. A simple infield fly off the bat of Baltimore's Pedro Severino resulted in two runs when Jean Segura called for the ball, then tripped over the mound and missed it.

https://twitter.com/JClarkNBCS/status/1293385315089092609

The Phillies somehow tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but things did not get better in extras. Philadelphia centerfielder Roman Quinn's missed dive on a line drive off the bat of Austin Hays resulted in a go-ahead inside-the-park home run which became the game-winner. 

A brutal stretch of defensive play led to the Phillies dropping a game to a team they were supposed to beat. Sure, one could say "that's just baseball," but the play on the field said otherwise.

Bottalico's bashing wasn't the only one to pick up steam on Twitter, as United States Congressman Brendan Boyle, a representative from Philadelphia, is ready to pass legislation to abolish the bullpen.

https://twitter.com/Phillies?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Phillies bullpen.

— US Rep Brendan Boyle (@RepBrendanBoyle) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepBrendanBoyle/status/1293370308112584708

Philadelphia sports fans don't need much to get angry, and the Phillies just gave them plenty of fuel.

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Phillies analyst calls loss to Orioles an 'embarrassment to baseball' originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

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