Brewers manager Pat Murphy credited the team’s legendary broadcaster Bob Uecker for an improbable ninth-inning boost to help preserve a 3-2 win over visiting San Diego in the first game of their playoff series Saturday.
With one out in the ninth and the Brewers clinging to a one-run lead, San Diego had a runner on first when Ty France hit a drive to left field closer Trevor Megill. But the ball hit a roof cable, stayed in play and was caught by Jackson Chourio for the second out. Megill then retired Jackson Merrill on a fly ball to right field to give Milwaukee the victory.
“I think the only thing you could probably imagine on the ball that everyone is going to talk about is (Uecker) decided to put his hand on it and crush it so Chourio could catch it,” Murphy said. “So thank you, Ueck.”
Uecker, who was the radio voice of the Brewers for more than 50 years, died last year at age 90.
The ground rules at American Family Field in Milwaukee state that a batted ball that hits the roof, roof truss, roof cable or other wiring in fair territory is in play. If caught by a fielder, the batter is out. If the ball hits one of these same structures above foul territory, it is a dead ball. A third rule states that if the ball hits these structures above fair territory and lands as a foul ball, it is a foul ball.
The Padres disputed whether the ball was fair or foul, but the on-field call that it was an out was upheld.
Padres manager Craig Stammen thought the ball would have been a home run if it hadn’t hit the wire, while Murphy thinks he would have fouled.
“We joked about it in the referees meeting today about what would happen if the ball hit the roof,” Stammen said after the match. “And it was unlikely, but it happened. The rule is if they consider the ball good and it goes down, you can catch it. If it hits the roof, then it’s a foul ball. So they decided it hit the roof and the outfielder caught it.
“Unfortunately, a bad break for us. It looked like it was a possible home run. It just didn’t go our way. This is the second time this has happened this year for the Padres.”
Murphy said that from his perspective, the ball wouldn’t have stayed fair during a home run.
“It would definitely be a foul ball,” Murphy said. “I’m just standing on that line, such a talented hitter.”
Chourio, who hit a game-tying two-run homer earlier in the game, said he was just trying to make sure he made the play.
“I wasn’t really sure what the rule was, and I wasn’t really sure it actually affected anything,” Chourio said. “I thought I had a chance on that ball the whole time without the stick. Then the only thing I kind of realized was it changed direction a little bit, but I thought I had a bead on it most of the time.”
Remarkably, this also wasn’t the first time this season the Padres lost a potential home run because of a stadium’s unique ground rules.
In August, Xander Bogaerts’ drive hit the podium at Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field and was caught by Rays third baseman Junior Caminero. Bogaerts’ drive had been projected by Statcast to reach 386 feet.
“You would think that with all the technology and data and everything that we have now, we would be able to make a clear decision on this,” France said. “I don’t know if it’s ever been done before, but yes, something should be put in place there. It shouldn’t be a way out.”
In the other early games of Saturday’s Division Series, the Rays blanked the Yankees for a 1-0 victory, the Dodgers defeated the Braves 5-3 and the White Sox beat the Guardians 3-0.
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