Game 1 of the NLCS between the Brewers and Dodgers gave fans one of the wildest sequences in postseason memory. In the fourth inning, with the bases loaded, James Outman crushed a ball to deep left field. Everyone thought it was a game-changing grand slam. Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick made a leaping attempt at the wall and almost came down with it. The ball hit his glove, then the wall, then bounced back in where he grabbed it and fired it into the infield. Confusion took over. Some players thought it was a catch, others thought it hit the wall. The umpires knew immediately—it wasn’t a catch. The third base ump emphatically signaled safe.
Because the ball wasn’t caught, runners didn’t need to tag before advancing. But the confusion led to chaos. The lead runner tried to head home while another thought he had to retreat and re-tag at third. The ball beat the lead runner to the plate for a force out. Then, in the scramble, the next runner was also thrown out at third. What looked like a grand slam turned into an inning-ending double play. Play-by-play announcers were confused. Dodgers baserunners were unsure if it was a catch or a hit. Even Outman stood halfway between first and second, celebrating like he hit a homer. But when the dust settled, it was officially scored as a fielder’s choice double play.
The umps got it right in real-time, thanks to the left field ump being all over the call. Had he missed it, the whole sequence could have spiraled out of control. Instead, the Brewers escaped the jam and the Dodgers lost all momentum in one of the strangest plays you’ll ever see in playoff baseball.