Umpires Admit Missing Eduardo Rodriguez Balk in Cubs' 2-0 Loss to Arizona

The Cubs dropped a 2-0 decision to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the final score came with an uncomfortable footnote: the umpiring crew acknowledged after the game that they had missed a balk by Eduardo Rodriguez upon reviewing the video, per Bob Nightengale. The call was not reviewable under current rules, meaning the acknowledgment arrived too late to change anything — which is, in its own way, the most baseball outcome imaginable.

The call that wasn't

The admission adds a layer of frustration to what was already a difficult series for Chicago. The Cubs managed just two hits in the loss, and the missed balk represents the kind of moment that can loom large when a team is deep in a playoff push.

A rough series for the headliners

Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman combined to go 2-for-24 with one extra-base hit across the three-game set against Arizona, per Nightengale. Crow-Armstrong struck out three times in the finale alone. For a Cubs offense that has led MLB with 43 home runs in August, per earlier Posterior reporting, the series represented a sharp departure from recent form.

What remains unconfirmed

Nightengale's report does not specify which play the balk occurred on, what inning it took place, or whether the Cubs have filed any formal complaint with MLB. The league has not issued a statement per the available material.