Chicago Cubs superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong was livid with the umpires following his team's loss in Arizona, believing that a missed call helped cost his team a potential win.
Crow-Armstrong was on third base with two outs in the top of the sixth when D-Backs pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez appeared to balk. Umpires, however, ruled that Rodriguez didn't balk, and the call couldn't be challenged. Crow-Armstrong immediately charged at third base umpire Malachi Moore to argue the ruling while being restrained by third base coach Quintin Berry.
Bit of confusion in the 6th w/ #PCA on 3rd and 2 outs. All #Cubs involved thought a balk was incurred as Pete started towards home. Looked like Eduardo Rodriguez stepped off the rubber, however briefly, before the pitch.@Cubs #GoCubsGo #Dbacks pic.twitter.com/EtdpVzf30m
— Billy Krumb (@ClubhouseCancer) August 26, 2026
"I saw four umpires miss a pretty obvious play," Crow-Armstrong said of the balk postgame, per Marquee Sports Network. "They're out there every day just like we are. Their one job is to get calls right, and if they get it wrong they're supposed to talk about it, figure it out, and get it right. And, they didn't."
Home plate umpire and crew chief Alfonso Márquez later admitted the ruling was incorrect.
"We just didn't see it," Márquez told USA Today's Bob Nightengale. "We just didn't see it. After looking at the video, it looked like he stepped off."
That did little to appease Crow-Armstrong.
"It doesn't make me feel any better," the 24-year-old said. "... They had as much time as they wanted to talk about it on the field."
He also called out second base ump Lance Barrett for "coming up to me after (Berry) had calmed the situation down," adding that umpires "find new ways to screw up every day."
Nico Hoerner eventually struck out to end the inning and leave Crow-Armstrong stranded at third. Jordan Lawlar then led off the bottom half with a solo homer that proved to be the winning run in a 2-0 Arizona victory.
"When a guy is shoving it down your throat, you gotta find any way you can to make something happen, and that's exactly what I was just trying to do," Crow-Armstrong said. "And I executed. And it would have been nice if the umpires did the same.
"I get it from Alfonso's point of view at home plate. (It's) tough to see with two people standing in front of you and all you're trying to do is call the right pitch, but I don't know how you miss somebody starting their motion and then stopping and stepping off."
Crow-Armstrong's sixth-inning double was his only hit of the series. He struck out three times in Wednesday's loss, and conceded that he was "pretty non-existent" when his team needed a big hit.
The two-time All-Star is in the midst of an MVP-caliber breakout season, hitting .276/.374/.550 with 33 homers, 83 RBIs, and 32 steals over 134 games. Crow-Armstrong's already clinched his second straight 30-30 campaign.
