A fan sitting behind home plate at the Dodgers–Athletics game Tuesday night really had his head in the game — but not the game he was attending.
In fact, his mind was on a completely different sport, at least during one particular moment in the bottom of the third inning.
The Dodgers were up 5-1 with one out as left-hander Justin Wrobleski was set to throw a 2-2 pitch to Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte. Without warning, a distinct and very loud sound started booming through Sutter Health Park.
“GOAL! GOOAL! GOOOAL! GOOOOAL! GOOOOOOOOOAL!”
The delighted screams were coming from a man wearing a Mexico soccer jersey in the first row. Apparently El Tri had just scored during its eventual 2-0 victory over Ecuador in a World Cup knockout game that was happening at the same time in Mexico City at Azteca Stadium.
Mexico had not won in a World Cup knockout round since 1986, a fact that perhaps contributed to the fan’s over-the-top reaction to one of the goals. He stood up from his premium seat at the baseball stadium, held his fists above his head, leaned back and vocalized his approval of what had occurred at a completely different sporting event more than 2,000 miles away.
Seriously, the dude’s shrieks could be heard echoing in the A’s dugout on the NBC Sports California broadcast of the game. The fans around him appeared to be largely unfazed, with some seeming to share in the man’s enthusiasm (although slightly less energetic ).
The pitcher and batter didn’t acknowledge the outburst, although Wrobleski’s pitch ended up in the dirt for a full count. The Dodgers starter recovered well, striking out Bolte with a 96-mph fastball on the next pitch to end the inning.
Wrobleski had a career-high 11 shutouts in seven innings as the Dodgers cruised to a 9-3 victory. It was the 10th win of the season for Wrobleski and 1,000th in the career of manager Dave Roberts.