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Mason Miller is human after all. Sort of.
The San Diego Padres closer hadn’t allowed a run in his previous 34.2 innings pitched Monday night, but it all ended because of a ball that left the bat at just 49.5 mph and appeared to land in foul territory.
Matt Shaw of the Chicago Cubs came to the plate with the Padres leading 9-5 and the dominating Miller on the bump. He rolled on a 1-1 breaking ball that dribbled down the third-base line, hugging the foul line the whole way, but when third baseman Ty France scooped it up after it stopped rolling, the umpire ruled it fair.
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San Diego Padres third baseman Ty France reacts as umpire Dan Merzel calls a single hit by Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw during the ninth inning at Petco Park in San Diego, California on April 27, 2026. (Denis Poroy/Imagn Images)
France and Padres manager Craig Stammen argued the call and replays appeared to clearly show the base of the ball was entirely on foul ground. However, the decision was upheld following a meeting between the referees and the play was not reviewable.
Miller then allowed two more singles to load the bases, and a forceout brought in Shaw. Miller then threw a wild pitch to bring home another run.
Allowing his first two runs of the season, Miller’s ERA climbed to 1.26.
“The call is what it is,” Miller told reporters after the game, via ESPN. “I thought I saw something different, but he was a lot closer than me. And I think everyone in the stadium had their opinion, but at the end of the day it’s only his that counts, so those were the cards we were dealt.”
San Diego Padres third baseman Ty France waits for a single hit by Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw to foul out during the ninth inning at Petco Park in San Diego, California on April 27, 2026. (Denis Poroy/Imagn Images)
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“The Padres win, that’s what matters at the end of the day,”
“He stopped driving,” France added. “I thought it was a foul, but they said otherwise. They said they both had a fair play and it was a non-reviewable play.”
There is some debate that since the ball is obviously a sphere, a bird’s eye view would block the white line, meaning it was in fact a fair ball. However, the MLB rulebook states that a fair ball is “a batted ball that lands on good ground between home and first base, or between home and third base.”
Regardless, this streak is the eighth longest by a reliever since the expansion era began in 1961, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at.
San Diego Padres relief pitcher Mason Miller throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park in San Diego, California on April 16, 2026. (David Frerker/Imagn Images)
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And as for Miller, he seemed to move on quickly.
“The beautiful thing is you can start another one,” he said.
