PHOENIX – Rockies ace Jeff Francis snuffed the life out of the crowd Thursday in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
Until, that is, he plunked Justin Upton in the bottom of the seventh. That’s when a crowd that needed the cheerleading of the P.A. announcer to generate noise suddenly became enraged and this NLCS took on new life.
After Upton was hit by a pitch, he glared at Francis, seemingly not realizing the Rockies pitcher was trying to protect a four-run lead and not intentionally throwing at a light-hitting rookie.
Soon after, Upton slid hard to break up a double play and threw a forearm at Rockies second baseman Kazuo Matsui. After the umpire ruled runner’s interference, the Chase Field crowd came alive.
Booing was followed by fans tossing water bottles onto the field, at which point Rockies manager Clint Hurdle pulled his team off the field.
“We got tired of having water bottles thrown on the field,” Hurdle said. “There comes a point where you need to make a point that enough’s enough.”
After an eight-minute delay, the Rockies finished off the D-backs, and the fans fell back into a sullen stupor.
