Major League Baseball

Balk business gets tricky in Texas with 2 calls

Published May. 13, 2010 9:21 p.m. ET

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This balk business in Texas is becoming real tricky.

A day after Oakland manager Bob Geren wondered whether umpires got it right on a balk call, a rarely seen balk rule came into play.

Then in even another balky twist Thursday, Rangers catcher Matt Treanor got ejected from the game by home plate umpire Bob Davidson after another balk was called on Texas starter C.J. Wilson.

In the fourth inning, umpires signaled a balk against Wilson on a pitch to Jake Fox with a runner at first base. But Fox hit the ball for a single and - by rule - that result superseded the balk. Fox wound up with a hit and Wilson wasn't charged with a balk.

Then in the seventh, after Wilson flinched his body while still on the rubber without delivering a pitch, Davidson immediately signaled a balk that sent runner Josh Donaldson from second to third base. Treanor still had his mask over his head and was facing the pitcher, but obviously said something the umpire didn't like and was quickly tossed.

Rangers manager Ron Washington came out for a lengthy discussion with Davidson, but wasn't thrown out of the game. Max Ramirez replaced Treanor behind the plate.

A strange play occurred on Wednesday night, too, in Oakland's 10-1 loss.

Texas' Ian Kinsler was on third base and suddenly started to break for home. Oakland pitcher Gio Gonzalez awkwardly stepped off the rubber, then threw wildly to the plate and allowed Kinsler to score.

Gonzalez was charged with a throwing error. But a half-hour after the game, the umpires called the press box to say it was really a balk.

``There's no way,'' Geren said Thursday before the series finale. ``But it makes no difference. The run would have scored either way. But how can they do that? .... It's not even worth worrying about. To me, it looked like he stepped off correctly.''

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