Sean Murphy 'believes he touched bat' in questionable catcher interference call that led to Phillies' run

Sean Murphy believes he touched J.T. Realmuto's bat on the back swing.

From multiple TV angles, it didn't appear that the Atlanta Braves catcher made contact during the eighth-inning at bat. This was a critical call, as the Philadelphia Phillies had the bases loaded with Trea Turner at third, Bryce Harper at second, Bryson Stott at first and two outs.

The Braves challenged, the officials reviewed the play, and the umpire announced that the call stood. As a result, Turner came in for the Phillies' third and final run in the team's 3-0 win at Truist Park.

"All I had was the big board," Braves manager Brian Snitker said afterward. "I looked, and Murph didn't say anything, and I don't know that a hitter reacts like that — things happen too quick for a guy to react like that if it didn't happen, but I couldn't tell off the video there."

After the game, reporters asked Murphy for his take, and he said that while he didn’t really feel the contact, he thought he touched the bat. Braves fans responded by throwing trash on the field, which caused a small delay in play.

“No excuse for that," Snitker said. "It’s scary. Those water bottles are like grenades. They could seriously injure one of our players.”

Ultimately, the one run didn't make a difference as Atlanta struggled to get anything going offensively. The team had only five hits in the game — no extra-base hits — and left seven men on base. Atlanta still had a chance in the eighth, though, when Ronald Acuña Jr. was walked, Austin Riley singled and Matt Olson hit a fly ball to help Acuña move to third.

The rally was ended when Ozzie Albies grounded into a double-play. The Braves went down in order in the ninth, and the Phillies have a 1-0 lead over the top seed in the NL.