Cubs score two runs via balk in wild first inning vs. Padres, make history
CHICAGO — You never know what you’ll see at the ballpark.
The Chicago Cubs, for example, saw two balks — in the same at-bat — Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field, leading to two runs in a five-run first inning against the San Diego Padres.
It marked the first time the Cubs ever scored two runs via a balk in the same inning since the stat began being tracked in 1920.
[READ: Wrigley Field voted best MLB ballpark by Sports Illustrated]
Yes, you read that right — balks, not walks.
Let’s set the stage:
Cubs catcher Carson Kelly was due up to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in a 3-3 ballgame. Padres manager Mike Shildt pulled starter Kyle Hart, though, and turned to right-hander Logan Gillaspie, who had been called up from Triple-A earlier in the day.
Gillaspie declared to the umpires that he’d pitch out of the wind-up with the bases loaded. However, he stopped in his windup as he prepared to deliver his 1-0 pitch, and thus was called for a balk that scored Nico Hoerner from third base.
A pitcher is allowed to work out of the wind-up with a runner on third, but he must declare it to the umpire and not stop in his delivery. So, Gillaspie was flagged, and the Cubs took the lead.
Gillaspie again was called for a balk later in the at-bat when he spiked the ball in front of him as he prepared to fire a 2-2 pitch to Kelly. That scored Pete Crow-Armstrong and extended the Cubs’ lead to 5-3.
Kelly lined out to Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts to finally end the inning.
You don’t often see a balk — just 197 were called across the major leagues last season. The last time the Cubs scored two runs in a game via a balk was on April 11, 1988, against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Kelly’s at-bat capped a wild, 47-minute first inning in which both teams combined for eight runs, seven walks and 79 pitches. The Padres scored three runs off right-hander Ben Brown, and the Cubs promptly responded, making for an unforgettable sequence at the Friendly Confines.