Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong expressed significant frustration after umpires missed what he described as an obvious balk call in the sixth inning of Wednesday's 2-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The play, which occurred with two outs and Crow-Armstrong on third base, could have given the Cubs the lead in a scoreless game.
Crow-Armstrong, a candidate for National League MVP, was forced to be held back by third base coach Quintin Berry as he argued with umpires. According to reports, the play involved pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez stopping his pitching motion after Crow-Armstrong's lead off third base, a move that should have resulted in a balk and Crow-Armstrong being awarded home plate. The umpires did not make a call on the field, and the play is not reviewable.
"I saw four umpires miss a pretty obvious play," Crow-Armstrong said after the game. "They’re out there every day, just like we are. Their one job is to get calls right. And if they get it wrong, they’re supposed to talk about it, figure it out and get it right. And they didn’t."
Umpire Alfonso Marquez, who was at home plate, later told reporters that the crew "just didn’t see it" and admitted that "it looked like he stepped off." Crow-Armstrong voiced his disappointment that the umpires did not acknowledge the missed call immediately on the field. "It doesn’t make me feel any better that they admitted they missed the call. They had as much time as they wanted to talk about it on the field. They should have admitted that right after they got it wrong."
The missed balk call allowed Rodriguez to pitch out of the inning. He went on to throw seven shutout innings. The Diamondbacks secured the series win when Jordan Lawlar hit a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning.
Crow-Armstrong, who went 1-for-12 in the series, acknowledged his own struggles at the plate but maintained his stance on the umpire's error. "If I’m going to sit here and b—h about this stuff, I should have done better today. Shouldn’t have punched out three times, should have had better at-bats all series, I was pretty non-existent so I think you guys saw my frustrations from the last three days kind of come out and I’m going to stick by it and say rightfully so," he said. "I didn’t appreciate the other umpire coming up to me after (Berry) had calmed the situation down. I think they find new ways to screw something up every day. So, there you go."