In a wild 10th inning between the Dodgers and Cubs, Joc Pederson came to the plate with a chance to win it against his old team. The Cubs trailed 4-3 but had runners on first and second. He hit a long fly ball and celebrated with a bat flip, thinking he had crushed a walk-off homer. But Mookie Betts tracked it down on the warning track, and Pederson was left staring in disbelief. The ball still tied the game as a sac fly, but the dramatics came from Joc thinking he won it. Turns out the wind may have played a big role.
According to Ken Arneson, VP of Engineering at Weather Applied Metrics, the wind pushed Pederson’s fly ball back 17 feet. Without that gust, it might have cleared the fence. Statcast backed that up, projecting the ball to land close to where it did based on exit velocity and launch angle. The Dodgers survived the 10th thanks to the wind, but the Cubs eventually pulled out the win. The moment stuck because of Joc’s reaction more than the sac fly itself. Fans got a mix of drama, science, and a little comedy as Pederson’s old team spoiled what he thought was a perfect revenge swing.