The Los Angeles Dodgers have become well-versed in balks this season, though not in the fashion they would have hoped for. The first instance was with Tony Cingrani, granted his pickoff throw to first base didn’t appear to break a rule.
Nonetheless, a runner was moved into scoring position, and it ultimately cost the Dodgers. More recently, Pedro Baez inherited a bases-loaded jam at AT&T Park. He slipped while going to deliver a pitch, allowing a run to score and the San Francisco Giants to go on for a win.
But the script was flipped Thursday afternoon at Chase Field, thanks in large part to Austin Barnes. He was batting in the eighth inning with one out and runners on first and second base.
Jorge De La Rosa came set to deliver a pitch before quickly stepping off the rubber but without first moving his back foot.
It was nearly simultaneous with Barnes stepping out of the batter’s box, and the sequence prompted him to call out a balk to home-plate umpire Jordan Baker, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
“It just seemed weird to me, so I said something,” Barnes said. “I think it just took a second for (Baker) to process what happened. It was a very nonchalant lean-back. It could have gone unnoticed easily.”
Whether Barnes taking action made a difference can be debated, but it undeniably led to a positive result for the Dodgers. De La Rosa proceeded to throw a pair of wild pitches, allowing both runners to score in what was a four-run inning for the Dodgers.
A 5-2 victory gave them a split of the four games at Chase Field and snapped the Diamondbacks’ streak of series wins this season at nine.
