Friday night the Royals lost to the Blue Jays in extra innings by a score of 7-6. A lot happened over 11 innings, but let‘s go back to the balk call that put the winning run in scoring position.
The Royals and Blue Jays were tied in the 11th and left-handed reliever, Franklin Morales, had a runner on first and Josh Donaldson at the plate. Morales picked up his front leg, move it slightly back, then stepped toward first and threw the ball to Eric Hosmer. If Morales’ front leg broke the invisible plane between the pitching rubber and first base, he had to deliver the ball to home plate—otherwise it’s a balk.