Sometimes, a joke made before the first pitch can come back to haunt most unexpectedly. That was exactly the case for the San Diego Padres at American Family Field, where a seemingly harmless comment from Brewers third-base coach Matt Erickson suddenly looked like a warning the Padres should have taken seriously.
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In the ninth inning of Game 1, Ty France’s potential game-changing drive struck a roof cable. It dropped into Jackson Chourio’s glove, turning a possible Padres run into a bizarre out. With the roof now open for Game 2, Erickson’s pregame quip has gone viral.
The Padres may have learned the hard way that sometimes, baseball jokes have a strange way of becoming reality.
“Haven’t seen it here in six years, so it will happen tonight,” Jomboy Media quoted Erickson during his conversation with the umpires before Game 1.
Per MLB rule, if a ball hits the roof, ceiling structure, or support cables over fair ground, it remains live. If a fielder catches the rebounding ball before it touches the ground, the batter is out. The baserunners may advance at their own risk.
However, if a batted ball strikes any part of the roof or structure while directly over foul territory, it is immediately ruled a dead ball.
On Saturday, France’s potential go-ahead home run was ruled a flyout after it struck a structural roof cable in fair territory. The bizarre play occurred in the top of the ninth with the Padres trailing the Brewers 3-2.
With a runner on first, France crushed a 105.3 mph fly ball deep to left field off closer Trevor Megill.
The towering shot hit a cable attached to the roof of American Family Field, completely killing the ball’s momentum. It deflected downward and landed directly into the glove of Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio on the warning track for the second out.
“I stood there and watched it, and it was going [out],” France said. “It was staying fair. It hit a wire, took a right, and the guy caught it.”
Now, Erickson could not have anticipated that his words would come true on the very same day. France’s hit was only the third time that a moonshot struck American Family Field’s roof.
Last time it happened in 2018, when Reds infielder Scooter Gennett hit a fly ball.
“Eleven years here, I’ve never had a ricochet ball,” said manager Pat Murphy. “I have never even seen anybody hit, like batting practice, anything. Pretty incredible.”
Fortunately, Game 2 is being played under open sky. Hence, there’s no more risk of a high fly ball hitting the roof.