Rockies Win With MLB's First-Ever Walk-Off Pitch Clock Violation

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Well, it finally happened: We got ourselves a walk-off pitch clock violation!

It all went down Saturday night in a game between the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals. The Rockies had the bases juiced with the scoreboard tied up at 7 in the bottom of the ninth inning. With a full count, Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan was a tad too late pitching the ball to Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon.

Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt called the violation on Finnegan, runners advanced, ballgame over.

Even McMahon was confused, walking away from the plate as if he had struck out. Seconds later, though, his teammates were drowning him in Gatorade as the lights dimmed and the celebration began at Coors Field.

Definitely an anti-climatic way to end a tight game, but rules are rules. And it was bound to happen sooner or later.

MLB instituted a pitch clock for the 2023 season set at 15 seconds with no runners on base and 20 seconds with a base runner. This past off-season, the 11-man competition committee voted to cut the clock to 18 seconds with base runners.

RELATED: MLBPA Blames Pitch Clock For Increase In Pitcher Injuries, MLB Says ‘No Evidence’ That's True

And it's not surprising that Finnegan was responsible for MLB's first-ever walk-off clock violation because the righty likes to take his sweet time. While Finnegan has been outstanding this season — entering Saturday with a 1.72 ERA in 31 1/3 innings — he now leads the league in pitch clock violations with nine.

The Rockies celebrate accomplishing something no MLB team has done before.

(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The walk-off put a nice little bow on a Rockies' comeback after Washington took a 7-5 lead in the top of the eighth. McMahon brought Colorado back within a run via a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, and Brenton Doyle tied it with a single in the ninth-inning rally that brought McMahon to the plate again. That's when he swung at and missed that late pitch like a champ!

But hey, the Rockies needed a morale boost, and they got it. Colorado currently sits at the bottom of the NL West at 27-50 — a whopping 20 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers.