A.J. Burnett’s Rosin Bag Bursts During Opening Day Start for Pirates (Animation)

Simple accident, or April Fools’ Day prank?

A.J. Burnett was mowing down Cubs batters left and right — striking out nine batters through four innings and surrendering just one home run in the process.

But when Burnett took the mound before the start of the fifth inning, his luck suddenly changed. When he reached for the rosin bag — usually used to dry a pitcher’s hand —  the bag exploded into a cloud of white smoke all over the Pirates pitcher.

Who knows if the Cubs or Burnett’s teammates were responsible for this misfortune, but if there was a bit of foul play, we don’t expect the culprits to come clean anytime soon.

Check out Burnett’s bad break below.

GIF via Business Insider