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The San Diego Padres dropped a heart-wrenching 3-2 decision to the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night at American Family Field.
The contest remained a nail-biter throughout, but the pivotal moment arrived in the top of the ninth inning when the Padres were denied a potential game-changing home run by the stadium's closed roof.
With San Diego trailing 3-2, first baseman Ty France launched a deep fly ball that appeared destined to be a two-run, go-ahead homer. Instead, the ball struck the top of the closed roof at American Family Field and caromed into the glove of left fielder Jackson Chourio for an out.
The Padres challenged the ruling, but after review, the call stood. The next batter, Jackson Merrill, lined out to end the game, sealing the Brewers' victory.
Brewers closer Trevor Megill, who earned the save, recounted the bizarre sequence on the FOX Sports 1 broadcast after the game.
"At first, it was 'Oh crap,'" Megill said. "And then the home plate umpire came up and said it was live no matter what. Four years in this stadium, I've never seen that before. Just glad it worked in our favor there."
Key Analysis
According to MLB rules, a batted ball that hits the roof in fair territory and comes down remains in play. The American Family Field ground rules specify: "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." Conversely, if the ball hits the roof over foul territory, it is a dead ball.
The Padres' challenge could only contest whether the ball would have landed foul. Since the ball was in fair territory when it struck the roof, the challenge was unsuccessful, and the out stood.
This story will be updated (refresh the page for the fully updated article).
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Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Padres on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.