John Kruk has had enough.
The Phillies TV analyst went off on MLB’s rule changes after a confusing sequence in the top of the 10th inning of Philadelphia’s 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
First, Arizona infielder Josh Rojas was nearly called for a violation for not being engaged with the pitcher.
After a discussion, the umpires decided that was not the case and then Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel was given a pitch clock violation, which moved the count from 0-2 to 1-2.
“Ah, dear crap almighty,” an exasperated Kruk said.
The whole exchange certainly did nothing to speed up the game as the rules are intended to do.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson then came out of the dugout to complain to the umpires while Rojas and Kimbrel had a brief, spirited conversation.
“What a joke! What a circus this game is coming to!” said Kruk, who is known for shooting from the hip.
“What the hell is Kimbrel supposed to do? They had a meeting for 15 minutes then he steps on the mound and they called him… This is a joke. They keep making up rules till no one knows what’s going on.”
Rojas ended up striking out swinging as the Diamondbacks went out in order to open extra innings before Alec Bohm’s walk-off single for the Phillies in the bottom half of the tenth.
The dramatics were not limited to extra innings.
Trea Turner, who is off to a brutal start to his Phillies career, tied the game with two outs in the ninth with a two-run homer.
“Maybe that’s his signature moment that gets him going here,” Thomson said. “Sometimes it’s tough for guys to come in, big contract, try to impress his teammates, fan base. He just keeps grinding, keeps working at it.”
Turner, who signed an 11-year, $300 million contract this offseason, even joked after the game that his mom had started giving him a hard time.
“She told me today she was booing me,” Turner told reporters with a laugh.
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