If you can believe it, Crew coach predicted that ball off the roof before the game

MILWAUKEE -- Matt Erickson called it.

Hours before Ty France's controversial fly ball -- a potential go-ahead home run in the ninth inning that struck a cable on the roof of American Family Field -- Erickson, the Brewers' third-base coach, took part in the usual exchange of lineup cards at home plate.

Before Game 1 of the National League Division Series -- an eventual 3-2 Brewers victory -- Erickson and Padres manager Craig Stammen spoke with the umpiring crew about the ballpark’s ground rules. At the end of their discussion, home-plate ump Nick Mahrley clarified what would happen if a ball were to hit the cables attached to the roof.

A day later, the FS1 broadcast showed some remarkably prescient footage of the meeting.

“If it hits fair,” Mahrley says, “wherever it comes down, whatever happens, that’s what we’ve got.”

To which Stammen even asked for a clarification:

“It can be caught?” he said.

“Yes,” another of the umpires responded.

It was at that point that Erickson chimed in:

“I haven’t seen that here in six years,” he said. “So it’ll happen tonight.”

Sure enough, France’s bid at a go-ahead two-run homer struck the cable, and Jackson Chourio settled under it to make the catch for the second out of the ninth inning. Where would the ball have otherwise landed? That might be the subject of debate for years to come.

But there was no debating the ruling.

"I've been out there quite a few times for lineup card exchanges, and there's some generalities of the ground rules,” Erickson said late Saturday night. “Very rarely is the roof talked about. And tonight, it was clearly explained -- almost identical to the play that happened.

“So, credit to the umpires for knowing what was at stake and letting everybody know the rules."