Brewers hold off Padres after roof cable turns France’s fly into an out
Milwaukee won 3–2 in Game 1 after umpires upheld a disputed ninth-inning out. Whether Ty France’s ball would have cleared the fence remains uncertain.
William Contreras’s seventh-inning solo home run supplied the winning run as Milwaukee beat San Diego 3–2 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at American Family Field.
The decisive dispute came in the ninth, with the Brewers leading by one and the potential tying run on base. Ty France’s fly ball struck a roof cable over fair territory and came down in Jackson Chourio’s glove. Umpires upheld the out after Padres manager Craig Stammen challenged the ruling, ending San Diego’s final push.
CBS Sports reported that American Family Field’s ground rules allow a fair ball that strikes the roof to be caught for an out. The ruling settled how the play was scored, but not what France’s hit might have done without the cable.
CBS Sports cited Statcast estimates that the ball would have been a home run at Daikin Park in Houston. It also reported that no ball with comparable exit velocity and launch angle has been a home run in the Statcast era. Those comparisons do not establish the ball’s likely path.
Brewers catcher Contreras thought the ball would have been a home run; manager Pat Murphy said it would have been foul. France described the swing as “game-changing”.
