Kansas City Royals react to walk-off balk in 10th inning: ‘We were able to find a way’
The long history of baseball has shown there are many ways to earn a walk-off win. Bobby Witt Jr.’s walk-off grand slam for the Royals on Friday was the perfect example of that.
And the Royals walked it off again against the New York Mets on Tuesday, but in a way you’ve probably never seen — by balk.
Entering the game with the bases loaded, two outs and the score tied at 6-6, Mets reliever Josh Walker didn’t throw one pitch. Before catcher Francisco Alvarez could call time, crew chief and first base umpire Marvin Hudson raced out to the pitcher’s mound. He pointed to Royals right fielder MJ Melendez at third and then to home plate, indicating that he was to score for the Royals’ fourth straight win.
Kauffman stadium erupted.
“Everybody in the dugout was screaming balk,” second baseman Samad Taylor said. “I’ve seen games end on a base on balls, wild pitches and stuff like that, I’ve never seen a game end on a balk.”
It was a game with multiple lead changes throughout, but none of it mattered on the final play.
The Royals trailed 6-4 following Alvarez’s two-run blast against reliever Carlos Hernández in the top half of the inning.
However, Witt and Melendez’s back-to-back gap shots tied it back up at 6. Four batters later, the Royals were down to their final out with the bases loaded.
Enter Walker.
The Mets turned to him to shut down second baseman Michael Massey, who entered for Taylor in the ninth. In the game’s biggest moment, manager Matt Quatraro revealed what advice Royals hitting coach Alec Zumwalt gave the left-handed hitter.
“(Walker) has a limited sample size, but he’s got some walks,” Quatraro said. “(Massey) didn’t have much time to warm up, so shrink the zone down, the pressure’s all on him right there.”
Before Massey could incorporate the approach into his swing, Walker tried to step off the mound, but his back foot didn’t clear the rubber. Alvarez noticed his partner’s illegal move and attempted to call time, but it was too late.
Alongside Hudson, Quatraro walked onto the infield while several Royals players in the dugout were up in arms. The only person that didn’t see it initially was home plate umpire Ryan Blakney.
Quatraro thought the pitch clock running down and loud environment might’ve led to Walker’s miscue. Melendez noticed it, but he wasn’t sure if the call would be made. When Hudson motioned him to the plate, he was thrilled.
“It’s great — a walk-off is a walk-off,” Melendez said. “The last thing we want to do is have the pitchers come out and throw more innings, so to be able to get that winning run in, you know, however it happens was very huge for us.”
Melendez jogged home excitedly as his teammates met him at home plate with a celebratory water-filled Gatorade jug.
As the fireworks went off and fans cheered, the team had officially picked up its fourth straight win for the first time this season — and its second walk-off win in the past four games.
Melendez noted how the team’s resilience and production with runners in scoring position led to the win. And as the season continues and more experience is gained, he expects more moments like these to come.
“Going into that last inning, you’re down two runs, but for us, we got a lot of young guys, a lot of guys that are not ones to give up,” Melendez said. “We’re not giving up those at-bats, we’re putting some pressure on them. And luckily we were able to find a way to win that game.”
