Madison Bumgarner found himself in a pickle in the seventh inning in his start against the Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday night. It was the first real threat the Cardinals had mounted against him, putting runners on second and third with two outs. Yadier Molina and Jon Jay both singled with one out and then advanced a base each when Kolten Wong grounded out to first base.
With a 2-2 count to pinch-hitter Tony Cruz, Bumgarner appeared to balk when he stepped off of the mound but no call was made. Several Cardinals, including manager Mike Matheny, yelled from the dugout, pleading for the call to be made. Bumgarner then struck out Cruz to escape the threat.
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Bumgarner doesn’t think he balked, but said “it was close”, per Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group.
“I was getting ready to throw the ball and stepped off – I thought I was about to cross my catcher up.” – Bumgarner on the non-balk call.
— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) October 12, 2014
