Craziest inning of 2024? 6-run 5th turns tide in SD-MIL opener

MILWAUKEE – For Joe Ross and the Brewers, it was a nightmare of a half-inning.

For Manny Machado and the Padres, it was a dream combination of soft contact, sweet luck and six runs.

Whatever your vantage, the long, strange top of the fifth inning was the turning point of the Padres’ 7-3 win over the Brewers on Monday at American Family Field.

For the two 20-year-olds on the field -- San Diego’s Jackson Merrill, whose three hits included a two-run single in the decisive fifth, and Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio, who smacked his third career home run -- it was a reminder that even modern baseball isn’t all about exit velocity.

“What I love about this offense is the ability to do things in a lot of different ways,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “We just took what the game gave us.”

From the opposing dugout, it felt different.

“It just seemed like a snake-bit inning,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

The game-changing inning had everything except extra-base hits. Eleven Padres batters stepped to the plate. Six of them hit singles, two of which didn’t leave the infield, including Machado’s tie-breaking bouncer over second base. Those two infield singles were also the only batted balls of the frame north of 100 mph.

The Padres’ hits were well-placed on one of those nights for the Brewers, who also hurt themselves. On back-to-back pitches, Milwaukee catcher William Contreras was charged with a passed ball and catcher’s interference. There was a pitch timer violation on Ross on a full count to load the bases for Merrill, who dumped a two-run single in front of the center fielder, followed by Luis Campusano’s single in front of left fielder Sal Frelick, who hesitated as he battled the lights.

As Ross walked off the mound shaking his head, a 3-1 Brewers lead had turned into a 7-3 deficit.

“A lot of different things took place that inning,” Shildt said.

“That’s baseball for you,” Contreras said. “I think that happens so that in some of the good moments, you can reflect and know that baseball will humble you a little bit.”

Here are the moments that made the difference:

Moment No. 1: The passed ball
Contreras has transformed himself into an all-around catcher, but he had a tough time as Jake Cronenworth batted with one run already in and the bases loaded. First, Contreras missed a 95 mph fastball above the zone for a passed ball that tied the game at 3-3.

“I’m not sure how that one happened,” Contreras said.

“It could happen to any catcher on that pitch,” Murphy said. “He probably won’t have another one for a long time. I was sick the way that happened, just because Ross was throwing the ball so well.”

Moment No. 2: Catcher’s interference
Later, Cronenworth checked his swing on a sinker below the zone and contacted Contreras’ glove. The Padres challenged, seeking an interference call to reload the bases. And even though the baseball was already in Contreras’ glove when the bat made contact, that was indeed the call.

“It’s not a great rule, and they’re going to change it at some point I’m sure. But it is technically the rule,” Murphy said. “Even though he caught the ball already, then the bat hit it. That’s just the way the game goes.”

“The catcher’s interference ended up being a fairly big play,” Shildt said.

Moment No. 3: Machado’s bouncer
Still with just one out in the inning, Ross needed a ball on the ground from Machado. He got it on a bouncer up the middle fielded by the Brewers’ second baseman, Brice Turang. But instead of taking a sure out on the play, Turang tried a behind-the-back flip to shortstop Willy Adames, who ran right by it. Everyone was safe, and Machado had an RBI single for a 4-3 Padres lead.

“Unless I grenade-tossed it,” Turang said, motioning an underhand toss over his head, “I think it was really the only chance I had.”

Moment No. 4: Free pass
Ross finally appeared on a path out of the inning when he struck out Jurickson Profar and got to a 3-2 count against Ha-Seong Kim. But before Ross could throw his payoff pitch, the timer expired and he was charged with ball 4. Once again, the bases were loaded, Merrill and Campusano made it hurt.

“The pitch clock violation might be the one thing [Ross] did wrong in the inning,” Murphy said.

Said Ross: “You’re not going to help yourself out by pouting. I’m sure I had some eye rolls in there at some point.”

Padres starter Joe Musgrove turned out to be the beneficiary of the Padres' big fifth inning. He’d allowed at least four runs in three of his four starts this season and wasn’t crisp early on but battled through six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and throwing 94 pitches.

“Musgrove hung in there,” Murphy said. “He could have broke and he didn’t.”

Musgrove walked a pair of batters when he returned to the mound after the Padres’ long rally but settled down.

“It’s just tough to get back into the rhythm of things when you go back out there,” he said. “I wasn’t very crisp but as the inning was going on I got back to being aggressive in the zone. Then in the sixth inning I went out with good intensity knowing it was the end of the line.”