A pitching duel ended, appropriately, when one of the men on the mound flinched.
Texas Rangers rookie relief pitcher Keone Kela balked with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, enabling Los Angeles Dodgers rookie pinch runner Kike Hernandez to cross the plate. The run gave the Dodgers a 1-0 win at Chavez Ravine.
“I just tried to do something to distract the pitcher,” Hernandez told reporters. “I faked him, and he fell for it.”
The Indians beat the Tigers last year on a walk-off balk. The Marlins beat the Braves 3-2 in 2000 on a John Rocker balk in the 9th. But the game-ending play, or misplay, appears rare and, in a sport obsessed with stats, without an official count.
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