Matt Erickson had a strange feeling before the first pitch of the National League Division Series opener at American Family Field. During the standard lineup-card meeting at home plate, Milwaukee’s third-base coach found himself discussing one of the park’s rarest quirks: a fair ball striking a cable attached to the roof.
Hours later, that exact scenario arrived with the Brewers protecting a one-run lead in the ninth inning of their 3-2 Game 1 win over the Padres. Ty France lifted a fly ball that carried toward the roof, with the potential to become a go-ahead two-run homer. Instead, it clipped a cable and dropped back into play, where center fielder Jackson Chourio made the catch for the second out.
The ball’s original flight path will invite arguments for a long time. Nobody can know for certain whether France’s drive would have cleared the fence. The ruling, however, was settled before the game ever began.
At the pregame exchange, Erickson and Padres manager Craig Stammen reviewed the stadium ground rules with the umpiring crew. Home-plate umpire Nick Mahrley made clear that a fair ball hitting the roof cables would remain live: wherever it came down, play would continue from there.
Stammen asked for confirmation, and an umpire answered yes. Erickson then offered the line that turned into a little piece of baseball prophecy.
“I haven’t seen that here in six years,” Erickson said at the meeting. “So it’ll happen tonight.”
A rare rule decided a huge October moment
FS1 footage aired the following day showed just how specifically the crew had addressed the possibility. Mahrley’s explanation matched the ninth-inning play almost perfectly, and it left no room for a replay-driven dispute when France’s ball struck the cable.
Erickson said the roof is seldom a major point in routine ground-rule discussions, even at a stadium where it can become part of the game. But on this night, with postseason stakes waiting, the umpires made sure both clubs understood the unusual provision.
“I’ve been out there quite a few times for lineup card exchanges, and there are usually general ground-rule matters,” Erickson said after Saturday’s game. “The roof hardly ever comes up. But it was explained clearly tonight, nearly the same as the play that happened.”
He credited the crew for spelling it out in advance. For the Brewers, that preparation mattered when France’s fly ball met the cable, Chourio squeezed the catch, and Milwaukee held on for the 3-2 victory.
