As soon as he swung the bat, Ty France believed he had hit a two-run homer to put the San Diego Padres ahead in the ninth inning of their NL Division Series opener against Milwaukee.
asserted
he → swing → Milwaukee
Brewers manager Pat Murphy figured France’s drive was heading foul instead.
asserted
drive → figure → ?
In one of the most bizarre plays in American Family Field’s 25-year history, France hit a towering flyball that seemed as though it might be headed over the left-field wall until it struck a cable on the roof of the stadium.
uncertain
it → hit → stadium
The ball then fell into the glove of Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio on the warning track for the second out of the inning.
asserted
ball → fall → inning
One out later, the Brewers had secured a 3-2 victory Saturday night to take the early lead in this best-of-five series.
asserted
Brewers → secure → series
“We joked about it at the umpire meeting today about what would happen if the ball hit the roof,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said.
asserted
Stammen → joke → roof
“And it was unlikely — but it happened.”
asserted
it → happen → ?
“It’s the first time I’ve seen that in four years here,” said Brewers closer Trevor Megill, who gave up the long drive.
asserted
who → ’ → drive
“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.”
asserted
it → have → me
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.
asserted
that → bat → out
The Padres unsuccessfully challenged that France’s drive was a foul ball.
asserted
drive → challenge → ?
Looked like it was a possible home run.
asserted
it → look → ?
Just didn’t go our way,” Stammen said.
asserted
Stammen → go → ?
France’s drive had a 49-degree launch angle
The game-changing play came with Dustin Harris on first base following a leadoff single.
asserted
play → have → single
France’s drive left his bat at 105.3 mph with a 49-degree launch angle, and it was caught 325 feet from home plate.
asserted
it → leave → plate
Megill was asked after the game what he thought once France connected.
asserted
France → ask → what
“Oh, crap,” Megill said.
asserted
Megill → say → ?
“I’ll keep it PG for you.”
asserted
I → keep → you
There has never been a home run at American Family Field with a launch angle greater than 46 degrees since Statcast tracking started in 2015.
asserted
tracking → start → 2015
France, however, had no doubt the ball would have cleared the left-field wall if it hadn’t hit the cable.
asserted
it → have → cable
“The biggest question was, was it going to stay fair or foul,” France said.
asserted
France → go → ?
“I thought I back-spun it, and it was going to stay fair.
asserted
it → think → it
I knew it was going out.
asserted
it → know → ?
Murphy disagreed.
asserted
Murphy → disagree → ?
“It was going to be a foul ball, for sure.
asserted
It → go → ?
I’m standing right on that line,” he said.
asserted
he → stand → line
“A hitter that talented, they would have liked to have that hitter back up there with another strike.
asserted
they → talente → strike
Instead, Chourio was in the right place at the right time as the ball landed harmlessly in his glove.
asserted
ball → land → glove
“I wasn’t all that sure of what the rule was, and I wasn’t really all that sure that it actually did hit anything,” Chourio said through interpreter Daniel de Mondesert.
asserted
Chourio → hit → Mondesert
“I thought I had a chance on that ball kind of the whole time off the bat.
asserted
I → think → bat
Then the only thing I kind of realized (is) it changed direction a little bit, but I thought I had a bead on it for the majority of the time.”
asserted
I → realize → time
Megill then completed his four-out save by retiring Jackson Merrill on a liner to right fielder Luis Lara.
asserted
Megill → complete → Lara
It wasn’t the first time the American Family Field roof played a role in a Brewers playoff game.
asserted
roof → play → game
Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell caught a high pop fly from Philadelphia’s Jayson Werth that hit the roof during the 2008 NL Division Series.
asserted
that → catch → Series
Padres have faced roof-related misfortune before
asserted
Padres → face → misfortune
Remarkably, it also wasn’t the first time this season the Padres lost a potential home run to a stadium’s unique ground rules.
asserted
Padres → lose → rules
Xander Bogaerts had a potential homer taken away at Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field on Aug. 28 when his drive struck the stadium’s B-ring catwalk and was caught by Rays third baseman Junior Caminero.
asserted
drive → have → Caminero
Bogaerts’ drive had been projected by Statcast to go 386 feet.
asserted
drive → project → feet
The fact that those types of projected distances are available had France wondering if something can be done to avoid these sort of circumstances in the future.
asserted
something → project → future
If it’s apparent the ball would have been a homer if it hadn’t hit the roof, why not just call it a homer?
asserted
it → ’ → it
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
