The Milwaukee Brewers closed out a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres in NLDS Game 1 on Saturday night after a strange ninth inning. With one out, Ty France hit a 1-0 fastball from Trevor Megill into a cable on the American Family Field roof, and Jackson Chourio caught the ball at the left field warning track.
Murphy came back to the play twice in his postgame availability. At one point, he compared it to a basketball center rejecting a shot.
“Great ball game,” Murphy said. “I think the only thing that everybody’s gonna be talking about is that Uke decided to put his hand on the ball and swat it down so Chourio could catch it. Thanks, Uke.”
“It was going to be a foul ball, for sure,” Murphy continued. “I’m standing right on that line. But they would have liked to have a hitter that talented back up there with another strike.”
“Uke” is Bob Uecker, the Brewers’ Hall of Fame broadcaster, who died in January 2025.
The American Family Field ground rules decided the play
Under the ballpark’s ground rules, a ball that hits the roof, a truss or a cable over fair territory is in play and can be caught for an out. Over foul territory, it is a dead ball. The umpires ruled that France’s drive struck over fair territory, and Padres manager Craig Stammen’s challenge was unsuccessful.
Megill did not know the ruling until the home plate umpire came out and told him in the middle of the play.
“It kind of looks foul off the bat there,” Megill said. “Looks like the wire kept it in play a little bit. Just a little bit of luck going our way there. Happy it ended up in Jack’s glove.”
“First time I’ve seen that in four years here,” Megill explained.
Jacob Misiorowski watched from the dugout. He said Sal Frelick had explained to him how the same rule worked at Tropicana Field.
“My view wasn’t great,” Misiorowski said. “I was down in the dugout, so I wasn’t on the line. But it’s definitely a new experience. I’ve never seen that before. Obviously, you hear stories of it happening in Tropicana, but new one here.”
Stammen called the ruling a bad break for San Diego. William Contreras, whose homer was the winning run, told reporters he thought France’s drive would have been a home run.
Ty France’s drive was unlikely to leave the park
France’s ball left the bat at 105.3 mph with a 49-degree launch angle. It still traveled 325 feet after hitting the roof. By Statcast’s estimate, it would have been a homer in only one park, Daikin Park in Houston.
CBS Sports’ Dayn Perry cited data from Timothy Burke showing that no Statcast-era ball hit at 105 mph and 49 degrees has ever left the park. Balls with that profile have produced a .037 batting average.
Megill recorded a four-out save.
Game 2 is Sunday at 3 p.m. CT on FS1.