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Mason Miller is human after all. Kind of.
The San Diego Padres closer hadn’t allowed a run in his previous 34.2 innings pitched entering 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.
The Chicago Cubs’ Matt Shaw came to the plate with the Padres leading 9-5 and the dominant Miller on the bump. He rolled over a 1-1 breaking ball that dribbled down the third base line and hugged the foul line all the way, but when third baseman Ty France picked it up after it stopped rolling, the umpire called it fair.
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San Diego Padres third baseman Ty France reacts as umpire Dan Merzel rules a single hit by Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw fair during the ninth inning at Petco Park in San Diego, California on April 27, 2026. (Denis Poroy/Imagn Images)
Both France and Padres manager Craig Stammen argued the call, and replays seemed to clearly show that the bottom of the ball was completely fouled. However, the ruling was upheld after a meeting between the umps and the play could not be called.
Miller then allowed two more singles to load the bases and a force out brought in Shaw. Miller then threw a wild pitch to bring home another run.
By allowing his first two runs of the season, Miller’s ERA ballooned all the way up to 1.26.
“The call is what it is,” Miller told reporters after the game, via ESPN . “I thought I saw something else, but he was a lot closer than I was. And I think everyone in the stadium had an opinion, but at the end of the day, only his matters, so those are the cards we got.”
San Diego Padres third baseman Ty France waits as a single by Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw fouls out during the ninth inning at Petco Park in San Diego, California, on April 27, 2026. (Denis Poroy/Imagn Images)
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“Padres win, that’s what matters at the end of the day,”
“It stopped rolling,” France added. “I thought it was ugly, but they said otherwise. They said they both felt fair and it’s a game that can’t be reviewed.”
There is debate that, given that the ball is obviously a sphere, a bird’s-eye view would block the white line, meaning that it was actually a properly called fair ball. But MLB’s rulebook says a fair ball is “a batted ball that lands on fair ground between home plate and first base, or between home plate and third base.”
In any case, the streak was the eighth-longest by a reliever since the expansion era began in 1961, which is certainly nothing to snort 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 be moving on quickly.
“The beauty of it is you can start another one,” he said.
