Here’s Why Rays’ Collin McHugh Intentionally Balked Against Red Sox

A balk isn’t something you see every day in baseball, but fans saw it done intentionally Monday in the 10th inning of the Boston Red Sox-Tampa Bay Rays game.

Collin McHugh was on the mound for the Rays with a runner on second and no one out when he balked during José Iglesias’ at-bat. Jonathan Araúz, the runner, moved to third in an 11-9 game.

So, why would McHugh put a run 90 feet away on purpose?

ESPN’s Jeff Passan said that teams are “very, very paranoid about runners on second base stealing signs and relaying them.” So the balk essentially takes away that threat.

While it makes sense, there still is quite the risk involved in such a close game. At the end of the day, though, it didn’t come back to bite the Rays as they won 11-10 at Fenway Park.