PHOENIX - The biggest flashpoint in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday didn’t end with a replay, because it couldn’t.
It came in the top of the sixth inning of a scoreless game, when Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled off Eduardo Rodríguez and later moved to third on Seiya Suzuki’s groundout. With two outs and Michael Busch at the plate, Crow-Armstrong took a big lead down the third-base line and Rodríguez fired a quick pitch in an attempt to catch him leaning.
That’s when the Cubs immediately insisted Rodríguez had balked by stepping off the rubber before delivering the pitch. Crow-Armstrong and third-base coach Quintin Berry argued the call in real time, and manager Craig Counsell joined in. Crow-Armstrong had to be restrained by Berry as the discussion grew heated.
The crew huddled, but the ruling stood: no balk.
After the game, crew chief Alfonso Márquez said the umpiring crew got it wrong.
“We just didn’t see it,” he said to the Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro. “After looking at the video [postgame], it looked like he stepped off.”
Because balks are not reviewable, the Cubs had no path to challenge the decision once it was made on the field. The video that surfaced afterward appeared to support Chicago’s argument, but the call was final in the moment.
The missed call mattered immediately. If it had gone the Cubs’ way, they would have opened the scoring.
Instead, Arizona escaped the inning and broke through in the bottom half when Jordan Lawlar launched his third home run of the season. The Diamondbacks added another run in the eighth on Ryan Waldschmidt’s sacrifice fly.
Arizona finished off the 2-0 victory and took the series, leaving the Cubs to stew over a run that never came in a game that stayed tight throughout.
It also reopened the familiar argument around MLB replay. The league has expanded review in recent years and rolled out the Automated Ball-Strike System in 2026, but balks still sit outside that safety net. Once the umpires ruled on the field, that was it.
Wednesday’s game was another reminder of how one missed judgment can ripple through an entire night.
In Other News...
Ketel Marte's Return Just Became An Issue Beyond His Knee
Ketel Marte is aiming to get back during the Phillies series as he works through the knee issue that has kept him out, but the bigger conversation around Arizona right now has drifted away from the injury itself. During a team trip, Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall addressed Martes absence and the fact that he later showed up at a casino, a sequence of events that has added an uncomfortable layer to what should have been a straightforward update on a key players recovery.
For a club trying to stay steady in a critical stretch of the season, the concern is no longer just when Marte can play again. It is whether the situation has created a communication problem inside the clubhouse, and whether Marte needs to speak directly to teammates to smooth things over before he returns to the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Suddenly Have A Eugenio Surez Question Fans Will Watch
Eugenio Surez landed on waivers after the Reds made him available to the rest of the league, and that immediately put a familiar name back into the conversation for Arizona. Surez already knows the Diamondbacks, which makes the fit easy to picture if the club decides it wants another veteran bat in the mix before the 48-hour claiming window closes.
Arizona is not alone in keeping an eye on the situation. The Blue Jays and Brewers are also mentioned as possible suitors, so this could turn into a quick race rather than a quiet reunion. For the Diamondbacks, the question is whether the familiarity and potential role are enough to move from curiosity to action. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Gave Up On Zack Littell Faster Than Fans Expected
Zack Littells Arizona stint is ending almost as quickly as it began. After just three appearances, the Diamondbacks put the right-hander on release waivers, cutting bait after a sharp first outing was followed by back-to-back games in which he gave up multiple home runs and struggled to hold the line.
If Littell clears waivers, hell become a free agent, and the Nationals will be on the hook for most of his salary. For Arizona, its another reminder that the bullpen and rotation shuffle can turn fast in August, especially when a short-term addition stops looking like a fit before the team has time to settle on a longer answer. [Read more 🡒]