A Turning Point? Eh, Maybe A Slight Bend
Yes. It was a balk, the umps missed the call.
Madison Bumgarner’s road postseason scoreless streak should have come to an end one inning earlier than it now stands (and could continue).
But…that’s likely the furthest such an event would have created. Balk or not, Bumgarner was lights out. This isn’t a pitcher that is known for getting flustered, and he got an easy out to that very same batter that was up. The Giants had a three-run lead, and the Cardinals hadn’t gotten close to challenging it either before or after.
There were a lot of storylines going into Game 1, and a few coming out of it. Madison Bumgarner was spectacular. The Giants patienced and peppered Wainwright out of the game. There was a mildly almost-controversial dropped catch in right field, which led to the only extra-base hit of the game. There were other Cardinal defensive problems.
But there was a lot of talk about balks by both the commentators and twitter fans after the game.
The umps missed the call, and it could end up being the catalyst for a rule change about instant replay, but this was not a close game. There were tense moments, but the Cardinals weren’t in it much, and one run off of a balk likely wouldn’t have made much difference.
