MILWAUKEE (AP) — William Contreras hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning and the Milwaukee Brewers hung on to beat San Diego 3-2 in their NL Division Series opener Saturday night after a potential go-ahead homer by the Padres’ Ty France hit the American Family Field roof and landed in outfielder Jackson Chourio’s glove for an out.
San Diego had a runner on first with one out in the ninth inning when France hit a towering flyball that struck a cable on the roof before Chourio caught it in fair territory on the left-field warning track.
Under the stadium’s ground rules, any batted ball striking the roof or one of its cables in fair territory is a fair ball that can be caught for an out, so Chourio’s catch retired France. The Padres unsuccessfully challenged that France’s drive was a foul ball.
“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,” San Diego manager Craig Stammen said. “Unfortunately, a bad break for us. Looked like it was a possible home run. Just didn’t go our way.”
France’s drive left his bat at 105.3 mph with a 49-degree launch angle. It was caught 325 feet from home plate.
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy thought the ball would have hooked foul if it didn’t ricochet off the roof.
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