MILWAUKEE -- We knew this National League Division Series between the Padres and Brewers would be decided by the slimmest of margins.
On Saturday night, Game 1 might’ve been decided by the roof at American Family Field.
With one on and one out in the top of the ninth inning, Ty France’s deep drive to left field hit a cable on the roof of the ballpark. Was it headed fair or foul? Impossible to tell.
Instead, the ball settled in the glove of left fielder Jackson Chourio. And a batter later, the Brewers had secured a 3-2 victory in Game 1 -- in the most bizarre fashion.
The ground rules for American Family Field say that a batted ball that strikes the roof, the roof truss or a roof cable over fair territory is in play, and if the ball is caught by a fielder, the batter is out and the runners advance at their own risk. If a batted ball strikes the roof, the roof truss or a roof cable over foul territory, it is a dead ball.
"We joked about it at the umpire meeting today about what would happen if the ball hit the roof," Padres manager Craig Stammen said. "And it was unlikely, but it happened. ... 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. We should be able to bounce back just fine from it."
The ball had a 49-degree launch angle. Only 10 over-the-fence home runs in the Statcast era have had a launch angle at least that high. There's never been a home run with a launch angle above 46 degrees at American Family Field.
"I think the only thing that you could probably figure on the ball that everybody's going to be talking about is that [Bob Uecker] decided to put his hand on it and swat it down so Chourio could catch it," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "So thanks, Ueck."