Watch: Red Sox-Braves ends in tie due to pitch clock violation

Cal Conley Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Red Sox-Braves game ends in tie due to pitch clock violation

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 2/26/23

We are only two days into spring training, and Major League Baseball's pitch clock is already causing mayhem. The Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves found out all about it on Saturday afternoon.

Their game ended in a 6-6 tie when Atlanta's Cal Conley was called for a pitch clock violation for not being set in the batter's box with eight seconds remaining on the clock, resulting in an automatic strike.

Because he was already facing an 0-2 count, it resulted in a strikeout.

Adding to the chaos? The bases were loaded with two outs in a tie game!

Bottom of the ninth. Tie game. Bases loaded. Full count. The dream scenario. And ... Cal Conley didn't get set in the batter's box with 8 seconds left on the pitch clock.

Umpire calls an automatic strike. At-bat over. Inning over. This is the new reality. pic.twitter.com/Bv5k2xJ06j
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 25, 2023

It might be spring training, but that situation is still everything you want as a hitter. Then it ends like that.

This is going to take an adjustment for pitchers and hitters, and we are probably going to see a lot of this sort of thing throughout spring training. Within a few weeks, and probably before the regular season begins, the players will figure it out, and we will likely not see these sorts of events unfold.

In the meantime, it is going to cause some havoc in spring training and probably a lot of very strong opinions from critics who hate the idea of putting a clock of any kind on a baseball game. The minor league players figured it out a year ago. The major league players will figure it out this year.

More must-reads: