Roof cable ends potential Padres homer as Brewers win NLDS opener 3-2

Ty France’s ninth-inning drive struck a roof cable at American Family Field, stayed in play and was caught by Jackson Chourio as the Milwaukee Brewers held on to a 3-2 victory over the visiting San Diego Padres in the opener of their playoff series on Saturday.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy credited the team’s legendary late broadcaster Bob Uecker for an unlikely boost in the ninth inning to help preserve the win. Uecker was the radio voice of the Brewers for more than 50 years. He died last year at the age of 90.

With one out in the ninth and a Padres runner on first, France hit a drive to left field off closer Trevor Megill that struck a roof cable and remained in play. Chourio caught the deflected ball for the second out. Megill then retired Jackson Merrill on a fly ball to right field to end the game and secure Milwaukee’s 3-2 victory.

“I think the only thing that you could probably figure on the ball that everybody’s going to be talking about is that [Uecker] decided to put his hand on it and swat it down so Chourio ⁠could catch it,” Murphy said. “So thanks, Ueck.” From his vantage point, Murphy added: “It was going to be a foul ball for sure,” Murphy said. “I’m ⁠standing right on that line, a hitter that talented.”

The ground rules for Milwaukee’s American Family Field state that a batted ball that strikes the roof, roof truss, roof cable or any cabling over fair territory is in play; if caught by a fielder, the batter is out. The rules also say if the ball strikes those structures over foul territory it is a dead ball, and if it strikes those structures over fair territory and lands foul it is a foul ball. The Padres challenged whether the ball was fair or foul, but the on-field call that it was an out was upheld.

Padres manager Craig Stammen said the drive looked like a possible home run and described the ruling as a bad break for his team. “We joked about it at the umpire meeting today ‌about what would happen if the ball hit the roof,” Stammen said after the game. “And it was unlikely, but it happened. The rule is if they deemed the ball to be fair and it comes down you can catch it. If it ​hits off the roof foul, then it’s a foul ball. So they ruled that it hit the roof fair and the outfielder caught it. “Unfortunately, a bad break for us. Looked like it was a possible home run. Just didn’t go our way. Second time that’s happened this year to the Padres.”

Chourio, who earlier in the game hit a game-tying, two-run homer, said he was focused on making the play and was unsure of the roof rule at the moment. “I wasn’t all that ​sure of what the rule was, and I wasn’t really all that sure that it actually did hit anything,” ​Chourio said. “I ‌thought I had a chance ​on that ball kind of ​the whole time off the bat. Then the only thing I kind of realized, it changed direction a little bit, but I thought I had a bead on it for the majority of the time.”

San Diego has faced a similar situation this season: in August Xander Bogaerts’s drive struck the catwalk at Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field and was caught by Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, with Statcast projecting Bogaerts’s drive to go 386ft. “You would think with all the technology and data and everything we have now, we’d be able to make a clear call on that,” France said. “I don’t know if that’s ever been done before, but yeah, there should be something put in place right there. That shouldn’t be an out.” In Saturday’s other division series openers, the Rays shut out the Yankees for a 1-0 win, the Dodgers overcame the Braves 5-3 and the White Sox beat the Guardians 3-0.