Brewers beat Padres 3-2 in NLDS opener after fly ball hits stadium roof

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Saturday night, Oct. 3, in Game 1 of their National League Division Series at American Family Field in Milwaukee. William Contreras hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning, and Milwaukee held the lead through a final inning that ended on one of the ballpark's strangest plays. [ 1 , 2 , 6 ]

In the ninth, with Dustin Harris on first after a leadoff single and one out, Padres first baseman Ty France drove a pitch from Brewers closer Trevor Megill toward left field. The ball struck the stadium roof — a cable, according to the Associated Press and CNN; a rail high over left field, according to Newsweek — and fell to left fielder Jackson Chourio on the warning track for the second out. Under the stadium's ground rules, any batted ball that strikes the roof or one of its cables in fair territory is a fair ball that can be caught for an out. The Padres challenged that the drive was foul, and the challenge failed. One out later, Milwaukee had the win. [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]

Padres manager Craig Stammen said the possibility had come up before the game. “We joked about it at the umpire meeting today about what would happen if the ball hit the roof. And it was unlikely, but it happened,” Stammen said. “Unfortunately, a bad break for us. Looked like it was a possible home run; just didn't go our way.” Megill, who gave up the drive, said: “It's the first time I've seen that in four years here. I had no idea what the ruling was until the home plate umpire came up and told me it's a live ball, no matter what.” [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]

Newsweek said it was impossible to say for sure whether the ball would have been a home run without the roof, and reported that Statcast data showed the drive — 105.3 mph off the bat at a 49-degree launch angle, caught 325 feet from home plate — would have been a home run in only one of the 30 major league stadiums, Daikin Park in Houston. CNN reported that no home run at American Family Field has had a launch angle greater than 46 degrees. Fox News reported that Statcast exit velocity and launch angle data explain why the ball was not the home run France believed it was. [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]

Earlier, Padres left-hander Robbie Ray started against Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, who was making the first postseason start of his career. Misiorowski struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. to open the game and left after four innings, having given up six hits, two runs and a walk while striking out six. San Diego scored twice in the second inning on Luis Campusano's run-scoring single and a fielder's choice. Milwaukee tied it in the third on Jackson Chourio's two-run homer, which Fox News said was the hardest-hit home run of his career. [ 2 ]

The Brewers lead the best-of-five series 1-0 going into Game 2, the Associated Press reported. The AP also reported that the roof was open for Game 2, a day after it was struck by France's ball, while Newsweek reported the roof had been closed for Game 1. [ 4 , 5 , 8 , 9 ]