For the first time since early August, Mason Miller allowed a run. Two, in fact. The San Diego Padres closer’s franchise-record scoreless streak finally ended at 34 2/3 innings Monday night, courtesy of the Chicago Cubs and a controversial call.
Miller, pitching in a non-save situation after a late home run by teammate Gavin Sheets, yielded three hits for the first time as a member of the Padres. The first left the bat of Matt Shaw at 49.5 mph and trickled up the third-base line as infielder Ty France and home-plate umpire Dan Merzel hovered over the ball, tracking its movement.
A moment later, France — who had shifted from first base to third after Manny Machado left the game with lower-body discomfort — picked it up, assuming it had crossed far enough into foul territory. Merzel disagreed, ruling it a barely fair ball. France immediately objected.
“It stopped rolling, and I thought it was foul,” France told reporters after the Padres’ 9-7 win, “but they said otherwise.”
Fair or foul calls in the infield are not reviewable. When contacted Tuesday regarding how the call should have been made, an MLB spokesperson pointed to the definition of a fair ball in the league’s umpire manual: “When in contact with the ground, a ball must be in contact with fair territory and not merely over fair territory in order to be adjudged to be fair.”
Home plate umpire Dan Merzel called the ball fair, giving Matt Shaw a single despite it appearing clearly foul pic.twitter.com/yck1JiRPnx
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 28, 2026
After Padres manager Craig Stammen came out of the dugout to argue, Merzel briefly spoke with third-base umpire Shane Livensparger, who concurred with the original call. Two more singles followed, loading the bases with no outs. Shaw then scored on a groundball, and another run crossed when Miller threw a wild pitch past catcher Freddy Fermin.
Miller retired the next two batters, ending a game in which France went 2-for-3 with four RBIs.
“Padres win,” Miller said. “That’s what matters at the end of the day.”
The Padres are owners of MLB’s third-best record (19-9), and Miller remains 10-for-10 in save opportunities early in what has been a dominant season. Acquired from the Athletics last summer, he allowed two runs Aug. 5, his second appearance for San Diego.
Over his following 33 appearances, he surrendered no runs while amassing 69 strikeouts. Entering this week, he had struck out 61.4 percent of the batters he’d faced in 2026.
Monday, his ERA shot up … to 1.26. His just-ended scoreless streak is the eighth-longest by a relief pitcher since the expansion era began in 1961.
“The call is what it is,” Miller said. “I thought I saw something different, but he was a lot closer than I was. And I think everybody in the stadium had an opinion, but ultimately it’s only his that matters, so that’s the cards we were dealt.”
