Braxton Ashcraft robbed of Pirates gem by baseball’s dumbest rule

Braxton Ashcraft did almost everything necessary to escape the sixth inning without allowing a run Monday night in San Diego. The one thing he missed had nothing to do with executing a pitch.

He forgot to tell the umpires how he intended to deliver it.

That obscure requirement triggered a balk, erased what appeared to be an inning-ending groundout and forced Ashcraft to throw 15 additional pitches that would end his night in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ eventual 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres in 12 innings.

Ashcraft had protected a 2-0 lead through five innings at Petco Park before Freddy Fermín opened the sixth with a double and advanced to third on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s groundout. With two outs, Ashcraft appeared to retire Jake Cronenworth on a first-pitch ground ball to second base.

Instead, home plate umpire Dan Merzel called a balk. Fermín was awarded home plate, cutting Pittsburgh’s lead to 2-1, and the groundout did not count because the ball was dead.

The ruling came from Rule 5.07(a)(2) of MLB’s official rulebook, a provision commonly known as the “David Price rule," which states that a pitcher whose feet indicate the set position is presumed to be pitching from the set unless he tells the umpire before the at-bat that he intends to use the windup.

A pitcher working from the set position must come to a complete stop, but a pitcher using the windup doesn't have the same requirement. Without a declaration, a windup-like delivery from what is presumed to be the set position constitutes a balk.

The declaration applies to each individual hitter. Ashcraft told the umpires he planned to use the windup against Tatis, but he did not repeat it when Cronenworth came to the plate.

Braxton Ashcraft’s dominant Pirates start takes an infuriating turn with bizarre balk call

Had the groundout counted, Ashcraft would have completed six scoreless innings on only 76 pitches. Instead, Fermín scored and Cronenworth returned to the batter’s box. He battled Ashcraft for seven pitches before singling, and Ashcraft then needed another eight pitches to induce a groundout from Manny Machado.

What should have been a one-pitch conclusion to the inning became a 16-pitch sequence. Ashcraft finished at 91 pitches, effectively removing any realistic chance of returning for the seventh.

His final line was still excellent: six innings, four hits, one walk and one run allowed. But an administrative mistake turned a scoreless outing into a one-run start and forced the Pirates to ask their bullpen to cover six innings.

Ashcraft acknowledged that the crew applied the rule correctly, even if he strongly disagreed with its existence.

“I think it’s the dumbest rule in baseball, but it is a rule,” Ashcraft told Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after the game. “It’s one of those obscure things that, it’s easy to slip your mind. Especially in a situation, big moment in the game.”

The Pirates ultimately survived, winning in the 12th inning. That prevented the balk from becoming the defining moment of a painful loss. It nevertheless had a significant effect.

A rule intended to clarify a pitcher’s delivery awarded San Diego a run even though Ashcraft’s motion provided no obvious competitive advantage — and nearly transformed another dominant start into a game-changing controversy.

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