The insane ballpark rule behind Padres brutal NLDS heartbreak

The Padres got screwed Saturday night.Not by the umpires.Not by replay.

Not even by the rulebook.They got screwed by the roof of the stadium.  The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.Please provide a valid email.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story With San Diego trailing the Brewers 3–2 in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, Ty France stepped in against closer Trevor Megill with a runner aboard and one out and launched a towering drive toward the left-field corner.

France watched from home plate, believing he had just flipped the game — and perhaps the series — with one swing.Then American Family Field decided to change history.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story France’s moonshot struck a cable attached to the retractable roof, changed direction and dropped into the glove of Jackson Chourio for the strangest second out imaginable.The Padres challenged.The call stood.And, incredibly, the umpires got it right.American Family Field’s ground rules state that a ball striking the roof, truss or cable above fair territory remains live.

If a fielder catches it, it’s an out.San Diego could challenge whether the ball struck the structure over fair or foul territory, but not whether France had been robbed of a likely go-ahead homer.“We joked about it at the umpire meeting today about what would happen if the ball hit the roof,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said.

“And it was unlikely, but it happened.”Of course it did.This is the same ballpark that produced last postseason’s pinball-machine madness when Max Muncy’s drive ricocheted off Sal Frelick’s glove and the wall before Milwaukee somehow turned the chao...