A fan caused confusion and generated frustration on Friday night during a game between the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves after throwing a ball onto the field during a play at the plate in the top of the fourth inning.
The bizarre moment unfolded after Braves catcher Sean Murphy lined out to Mike Yastrzemski in right field. Matt Olson tagged from third and easily beat the one-hop throw from Yastrzemski, but the ball thrown from the stands arrived at exactly the same moment.
The second ball bounded toward the pitcher’s mound, while the throw from Yastrzemski pulled Patrick Bailey toward the first base line.
“That’s a first,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the game, via NBC Sports. “I’ve never seen that before. I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know what the rule is. I think everybody was a little surprised by it. It didn’t affect the play, but it was extremely odd to see another baseball come on the field.”
The game was briefly delayed as umpires conversed before ruling that no change would be made to the call since the ball didn’t impact the outcome of the play.
Although no one was injured, Giants infielder Tyler Fitzgerald called the stunt “dangerous” and said he would have been “angry” had the ball struck one of his teammates.
It’s unclear if security was able to locate the perpetrator or if they were thrown out of the stadium.
The Giants ultimately won the game, 5-4, on a walk-off wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning.
