There are lots of ways to lose a baseball game, but the Houston Astros managed to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 on Saturday night in one of the most annoying ways possible: a denial.
Let’s set the scene. It’s the end of the 8th round, the score is tied 7-7. Astros reliever Ryne Stanek throws to Miguel Rojas with runners at second and third and two outs. The game is in the balance. Then, the plate umpire calls a denial, which kicks off the Dodgers. Stanek is not happy.
So was it a scrap? Let’s move on to the rulebook. According to Rule 6.02(a), if a pitcher arrives on the mound and his foot touches or passes the plate, he cannot step down and must pitch to the batter. When a pitcher gets ready and leaves, it’s remorse.
Using the MLB 2023 rulebook definition, Stanek executed a playbook denial. He came down on the mound, his foot was touching the rubber, then his right knee moved and he went down instead of throwing a pitch. Kids learning the rules of baseball could see this clip and they’d have a pretty solid idea of what a refusal is.
Stanek didn’t see it that way. He was quite upset after the balk was called, but managed to pull himself together and keep throwing instead of being ejected on the spot. He waited until he knocked out Michael Busch to lose his temper, and he did. The second base umpire let Stanek in for maybe two seconds of screaming rage before ejecting him. And manager Dusty Baker, who is always in the mood to talk to a referee, came out to defend his player and was promptly sent off as well.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he didn’t like a decisive run scoring on a rules violation instead of an actual baseball play, but the umpires got it right in that. case.
The umpires understood, but the plate umpire did not identify the disallowance on his own. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya spoke with Rojas (the hitter when Stanek refused), who said he identified the refusal and reported it to the plate umpire. Sometimes following the rules can work in your favor.