The Padres had Game 1 of the NLDS right there in front of them, then watched it slip away in the strangest possible way.
San Diego fell to the top-seeded Brewers, 3-2, on Saturday night in a tight, tense opener that turned on a ninth-inning play at American Family Field. With the Padres trailing by a run, Ty France sent a ball into the air that looked for a moment like a go-ahead, two-run homer. Instead, it struck the top of the closed roof and dropped into the glove of Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio.
The umpires ruled France out, and the Padres challenged the call. It didn’t change anything. Jackson Merrill followed with a lineout, and Milwaukee finished off the win.
Brewers closer Trevor Megill, who got the save, described the moment this way on the FOX Sports 1 broadcast: “At first, it was ‘Oh crap’. And then the home plate umpire came up and said it was live no matter what," Megill said on the FOX Sports 1 broadcast after the game.
"Four years in this stadium, I’ve never seen that before. Just glad it worked in our favor there.”
The call fit the rulebook, even if it looked bizarre in real time. Under MLB rules, a ball that hits the roof in fair territory and comes back down remains in play.
American Family Field’s ground rules say the same thing: "Batted ball strikes roof, roof truss, roof cable or any cabling over fair territory, [ball is] in play. If caught by fielder, batter is out, and runners advance at own risk."
There’s a different result if the ball hits the roof in foul territory: "Batted ball strikes roof, roof truss, roof cable or any cabling over foul territory, [it is a] dead ball."
That distinction mattered here. The Padres could only challenge whether the ball would have gone foul. Since it was in fair territory when it hit the roof, the challenge failed.
Milwaukee took the final out and held on for the 3-2 victory.
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Padres Have Every Right To Be Furious About This Game 1 Twist
A strange break in Game 1 of the NLDS put the Padres in an early hole before the baseball really had a chance to breathe. Ty France sent a ball skyward at American Family Field, it struck a cable supporting the roof, and Jackson Chourio came down with it for an out. It was the kind of play that makes everyone in the ballpark stop and check the rule book, even if the answer winds up being more mundane than the reaction.
Under the parks ground rules, the ball stays live if it hits the cable above fair territory, so the ruling was correct. Still, the setting only added to the frustration for San Diego, with MLB controlling whether the roof is opened or closed in the postseason and the roof closed for this game. For a team trying to seize an early edge in October, it was the sort of twist that leaves plenty of room for argument, even if not much room for protest. [Read more 🡒]
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A strange break in Milwaukee helped turn one of Game 1s biggest swings into a routine out, and the Padres were left to shake their heads. Ty France sent a deep fly toward the roof at American Family Field, where the ball took an odd bounce and was ultimately caught by Jackson Chourio, erasing what looked like a possible go-ahead homer for San Diego.
Craig Stammen challenged the call, but the umpires let it stand under the parks ground rule, which treated the ball as fair after it hit the roof. It was the kind of play that can feel unique to one stadium, one postseason game, and one unlucky sequence, especially since the balls path probably would have played differently in most major league parks. [Read more 🡒]
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