Balky

Last night, Daniel Bard was called for two balks in the same inning.

How rare is this?

Only one other Sox pitcher, Clay Buchholz, has one this year.

The entire Yankee staff has one balk (Sabathia).

The entire Tampa Bay team has one (Shields).

Baltimore has none, and Toronto has none, as of last night. (All figures from Baseball Reference.)

A while back, MLB made some sort of announcement about enforcing balks. Once, in the All-Star Game, Derek Lowe allowed the first National League run on a bases-loaded balk. I remember the moment because Fox in its wisdom did not show the replay, cutting instead to some meaningless sideline interview.

But again, two in one game? In one inning? Pretty rare. There are always new ways to lose.

On the inevitable bright side, Bard pitched really well for the bulk of the game. He lasted until the eighth inning because he had thrown less than 100 pitches. Gonzalez produced another multi-hit game. If Billy Butler hadn't connected, they might have won.

Tonight they face Bruce Chen, looking for his first win. Jon Lester is much better, though. He's looking for his second win.

PS. Hamilton. Yikes.