Balk paves way to Hillcats’ victory, series sweep

Go to any amateur baseball game, from college to high school to Little League, and the calls from the crowd are unmistakable. Any time a pitcher makes a strange pickoff move, the screams of “Balk! Balk!” cascade through the crowd.

The call is rarely made, though. Balks are usually much less obvious than a pitcher making an exaggerated move to third or first before firing to home plate. Such was the case Thursday night at City Stadium, when a seemingly innocent Bryan Price balk opened the floodgates in the Hillcats’ 12-1 victory over Salem, securing a three-game sweep for the home team in a series pitting the leaders of the Carolina League’s two divisions.

With one out in the second, Price walked Kent Sakamoto, bringing Eddie Prasch to the plate. Sakamoto is one of two Hillcats not to attempt to steal a base this season — backup catcher Joel Collins is the other — so it’s not like there was a speed threat at first. But an imperceptible move led to the balk call, moving Sakamoto to second.

The play seemed harmless at the time. But had Sakamoto still been on first, Eddie Prasch’s roller to second would have surely resulted in a double play. Instead, Sakamoto moved from second to third on the grounder, and the Hillcats erupted for five two-out runs in the inning, turning a 1-0 lead into a 6-0 edge.

“That’s the way it’s been,” Hillcats manager P.J. Forbes said. “This team has really capitalized when a team opens the door. They find a way to kick it down.”

Sakamoto was taking a short lead off first when Price — making his first start for Salem after going 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA in eight starts in low-A Greenville — balked.

“It was a real quick flinch,” Sakamoto said. “I don’t think it was a balk on a pickoff move. He had seen a pitch, and then he tried to come set, and it might not have been the pitch he was supposed to throw. The quick flinch.”

The onslaught was more than enough support for Lynchburg starter Matt McSwain, who made his fourth straight quality start and became the first Hillcat starter this season to reach the eighth inning. McSwain allowed one run on four hits in eight innings in 84 pitches, lowered his ERA to 3.54 and improved to 5-1. At one point, he retired 15 straight Salem batters.

Forbes commended McSwain for pounding low in the zone with his fastball and breaking ball. McSwain struck out five, walked none and induced 12 groundball outs.

“At the beginning of the game, I didn’t feel all that comfortable,” said McSwain, who allowed two hits in the first and didn’t allow another Salem baserunner until the sixth. “I told Wally (pitching coach Wally Whitehurst) that I felt kind of sluggish. But the warmup pitches I threw after the first inning felt good, and I was able to settle in a little bit.”

McSwain’s last four starts have been stellar. In 32 2/3 innings, he’s allowed 17 hits and five earned runs. The Hillcats, who won their 30th game and recorded their first true season sweep — one game of a four-game set with Myrtle Beach was rained out, and the Hillcats won the other three — have won the last six times McSwain has started a game.

“The first four or five starts, you’re just trying to get a feel for things, and I didn’t feel comfortable with my delivery,” McSwain said. “But I kept working at it and working at it, and I don’t remember what it was, but it just clicked, you know? You try to catch another gear and keep going after that.”