HOUSTON — With a full count in the bottom of the eighth inning of a tied game, Houston Astros pitcher Ryne Stanek committed a balk that scored a go-ahead run.
Or did he?
The controversial call gave the Los Angeles Dodgers an 8-7 lead, which they would hold onto to win the game. Stanek and Astros manager Dusty Baker were both ejected after arguing the call.
"I needed some kind of explanation because Stanek was going ballistic," Baker said. "Boy, that's a tough way to lose."
Stanek said the balk, which was called by second base umpire Junior Valentine, was the first of his career.
"The move is beyond minor," Stanek said. "I think that's a pretty drastic call to make considering that play right there, the umpire decided the game."
On replay, Stanek's right leg appeared to flinch after he looked in for the pitch, before stepping off to call time.
"He said I moved my leg, which was pretty obvious because I stepped off the mound. Beyond that, I wholeheartedly disagree," Stanek said. "A balk is intentionally trying to deceive the runner. At what point was I trying to deceive the runner? I hadn't even come set yet. I literally was just stepping backwards."
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts disagreed with Stanek's version of the story.
"You don't want that to be the deciding run in that situation, but they got the call right," Roberts said. "I think maybe he was trying to step off, call timeout, and then his cleat got stuck, but it was a balk."
Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas echoed those sentiments.
"It was weird," Rojas said. "I pointed it out...he's calling balk, he's not calling time. Doing whatever we can to score that run right there."
Major League Baseball told teams back in February that the balk rule would be properly enforced in 2023 as part of the new rule changes. The changes brought warnings to pitchers with funky deliveries, including Astros' starter Luis Garcia.
