For the better part of the past week, the Los Angeles Dodgers endured one loss after another because their bullpen, without Kenley Jansen, failed to protect a lead. On Saturday night, the bullpen faltered yet again.
However, it was in painstakingly different fashion than simply allowing an opponent to string together hits. Rather, an infield single and walk loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Dylan Floro was then called for a balk, giving the Seattle Mariners a walk-off win. There was plenty of confusion and frustration over the play. Such tends to be the case with most balk calls.
However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admitted the play, however minimal Floro’s movement, was the accurate call by first-base umpire Andy Fletcher, per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Roberts said he watched the replay and saw “a flinch (by Floro) after he came set.”
“It was close. It was borderline,” Roberts said. “But Andy got it right.”
Justin Turner was among those upset the game was decided on a call made by an umpire. While others wondered why the balk didn’t come from the third-base side, where the umpire was facing Floro.
It was a second time this season the Dodgers were hurt by a balk. Though the first instance with Pedro Baez was much more egregious and clearly a balk, and it only drove in a go-ahead run in the seventh inning.
