Cubs Balk Call Controversy in Phoenix Ends in 2-0 Loss to Diamondbacks

Umpires acknowledge missed call after Arizona shuts down Chicago

PHOENIX, Arizona — The Chicago Cubs were denied what they believed should have been a go-ahead run on a missed balk call Wednesday, then lost 2-0 to the Arizona Diamondbacks as left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez dominated the visitors over seven innings.

The disputed Cubs balk call came in the sixth inning of a scoreless game at Chase Field. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who had doubled to reach base, moved down the third-base line in an apparent effort to distract Rodriguez. The Diamondbacks pitcher became unsettled during his delivery, moved his feet and stepped off the rubber, according to the Cubs' account of the play.

Chicago believed Rodriguez's movement should have resulted in a balk and allowed Crow-Armstrong to score. Instead, the four-man umpiring crew conferred on the field and did not call a balk. Crow-Armstrong reacted angrily and had to be restrained by third-base coach Quintin Berry, while manager Craig Counsell came out to argue. Neither Crow-Armstrong nor Counsell was ejected.

Rodriguez escaped the inning after walking first baseman Michael Busch and striking out Nico Hoerner. He allowed only two Cubs hits across seven scoreless innings, keeping Chicago's lineup under pressure throughout the game.

After the game, crew chief Alfonso Marquez told a pool reporter that the umpires reviewed video and concluded Rodriguez appeared to have stepped off. “We just didn’t see it,” Marquez said. The admission offered little relief for the Cubs, who had already lost their chance to break the deadlock.

“They flat out missed it,” Counsell said. “It’s obvious to everybody on TV. It’s obvious to anybody. They missed it.”

Crow-Armstrong said he had been trying to create an opening against a pitcher who was controlling the game. “When a guy is shoving it down your throat, you’ve got to find any way you can to make something happen,” he said. “I executed, and it would have been nice if the umpires did the same.”

Second balk dispute in less than a week

The Phoenix controversy was the Cubs' second balk-related grievance of the six-game Western trip. In Seattle on Friday, Chicago objected to a balk called against starter Matthew Boyd during a pickoff attempt. Counsell said after that game that the umpire had been fooled into making the call.

Boyd, who started Wednesday, later gave up the game's decisive home run after the Cubs were unable to capitalize on the sixth-inning dispute. The loss handed Chicago the series defeat and completed its trip at 2-4. Three of the club's four losses on the journey came on walk-off hits, while Wednesday's setback was the only one not decided in the final at-bat.

Crow-Armstrong went 1-for-12 in the Arizona series and struck out three times Wednesday after being held hitless in the first two games. He acknowledged that frustration from the series contributed to his emotional reaction, but the Cubs have embraced the intensity he brings during an MVP-caliber season.

The Cubs left Phoenix with the umpiring crew's postgame acknowledgement of the missed call, but no reversal was possible and no further action was announced. Chicago will now regroup after the road trip, while the disputed balk remains part of an ongoing run of close and costly losses.