Phillies Closer Craig Kimbrel Very Smartly Committed an Intentional Balk Before Winning Game

The Marlins probably wish they could have declined this.

The defending National League champion Phillies kicked off their 2023 postseason with a 4–1 victory over the Marlins on Tuesday night and now need just one more win to advance to the Division Series. 

Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel finished up the victory with a clean ninth inning. He also pulled off a move that is rarely seen in baseball—he took an intentional balk with two outs and a runner on second base. 

Why would a pitcher do something like that? Because moving the runner to third base took away any chance of pitches or location being tipped off. The runner on second was basically meaningless, so that freed up Kimbrel to focus solely on the hitter, who he got to ground out to end the game. 

Check this out: 

Love how he just casually dropped the ball like that. You have to think the Marlins wish they could have declined that balk. 

Fans loved it: 

This has gotta be the funniest balk in the history of balks. https://t.co/fvyMnfsRSE

— $Ritchie$ (@WhoDeyRitchie) October 4, 2023