Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft Dealt Bizarre Balk Call
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PITTSBURGH — Braxton Ashcraft looked like he'd have another incredible outing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but found himself in the middle of a strange decision from the umpire crew.
Ashcraft looked like he got out of the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres unscathed, getting second baseman Jake Cronenworth to ground out for the final out, stranding a runner at third base.
Home plate umpire Dan Merzel instead called for a balk, which scored Padres catcher Freddy Fermín from third base and got the Padres within one run at 2-1 in the series opener at Petco Park on Aug. 24.
Ashcraft was incredulous and Pirates manager Don Kelly came out and discussed the ruling with Merzel, but the call stood and forced Ashcraft into a longer sixth inning.
Ridiculous call to break up a stellar outing...
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) August 25, 2026
Somehow a balk is retroactively called after the inning's final out? See for yourself, there was no balk ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/7p9gYMFLi1
What's the Ruling Here on the Balk Call?
The SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast crew didn't understand the call, one that most people wouldn't have gotten, but it's an odd decision that definitely hurt the Pirates in this game.
A pitcher has to declare he is coming out of the windup when he has a runner at third base and because Ashcraft didn't, it gets called as a balk.
How is this a balk? pic.twitter.com/dZZAwG0vyU
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) August 25, 2026
It's more colloquially known as the "David Price rule," which came about when the five-time All-Star pitcher had a similar windup and set position throwing motion.
Umpires brought the rule in ahead of the 2017 season as a way to determine the timing of a pitch for a balk call, essentially, when the umpires can figure out if it's a pitch or not, particularly if a pitcher is going from the stretch or the windup.
The pitcher only has to do this when there is a batter at third base, not if there is one at second base or first base.
Fermín led off the inning with a double and then made it to third base on a ground out, with right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Pirates manager Don Kelly said postgame that Ashcraft declared it for the first batter, Tatis, but didn't do so for the second batter, Cronenworth, which is what he got docked for.
“Unfortunate, just didn’t declare for the second batter," Kelly said to SportsNet Pittsburgh. "Sometimes I don’t understand that rule because he declared for the first one and feel like it should stay until we want to switch it. That’s not the rule. Giving up a run there was frustrating because it would’ve been a ground out up the middle to second, but I thought he threw the ball well.”
Ashcraft Shows Frustration With Bulk Call
The call hurt Ashcraft in his outing, as he would've exited the sixth inning scoreless and at 76 pitches, with the first-pitch ground out.
He instead threw 15 more pitches after that, as Cronenworth worked a seven-pitch at-bat for a single and then Ashcraft got third baseman Manny Machado to ground out after eight pitches.
Ashcraft had a great outing overall, with six innings of one-run baseball and just four hits and a walk allowed, but the Pirates All-Star didn't care much for the ruling, as it forced him to 91 pitches and stopped him from getting a crucial seventh inning.
He said that he's gone to the windup with multiple hitters before and that it hasn't been call, but this crew has made the call before, which he was fine with them getting right, but doesn't like the rule and wants to have more discussions on changing it for the future.
“Yeah I think it’s the dumbest rule in baseball, but it is a rule," Ashcraft said. "It’s one of those things that, you know, when there’s nobody on base, everybody has the inference that you’re going from the windup. When there’s runners on base, everybody infers that you’re going from the stretch, runner on third base in that situation, I had decided to go from the windup. Declared it to second base umpire, home plate umpire.
“I just didn’t really think about the rule. It’s one of those obscure things that, it’s easy to slip your mind. Especially in a situation,big moment in the game.
"There’s been times this year, gone to the windup, multiple batters and hadn’t declared and for the second batter, I guess got away with it, but I think that’s definitely, been twice this year with the same crew, and they get the call right, but at the same time, it’s a stupid rule in my opinion and it’s something that, I believe that coming up in the next year or so, we should certainly look at as players with the league in and of itself and make that something where you don’t get in situations where it really changes the game for a little nuance in the game that really has no bearing on what happens.
“It’s just, ultimately we come out of the game with the win, which is great, but that could’ve been a huge, huge turning point in the game and in a way it was, but again we come out the game with a win and it’s just on us as pitchers, across the league, to know the rules a little bit better.
“It’s part of the game, but I hope that’s something we look into really soon.”
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.