As Game 6 of the American League Championship Series rolled along on Friday night, with Yankees starter Luis Severino matching Astros starter Justin Verlander pitch for pitch, Yankees fans were ticked that Fox 1 baseball analyst John Smoltz apparently was openly rooting for Verlander.
How do we know that?
Because Smoltz, who didn't miss a chance to praise the right-hander even though he had given up more hits than Severino through four innings, actually groaned when Verlander didn't get a strike call on a close pitch, and then had to apologize.
Fans lit up Smoltz on Twitter, with some blaming Smoltz, the former Barves pitcher, for still holding a grudge for the Atlanta's World Series loss to the Yankees in 1996:
Smoltz is borderline wishing Severino threw nothing but cookies.