Mason Miller’s historic streak has come to an end, thanks to a controversial fair ball and a couple of talented hitters.
Entering the 9th inning on April 27th, Miller was carrying a scoreless inning streak of 34.2 innings, dating back to August of 2025. The Padres’ closer had been practically unhittable. Miller’s streak was the longest scoreless inning streak for any reliever since 2022, when Josh Hader put together a 38-inning streak as a Milwaukee Brewer.
Miller also set the San Diego Padres‘ team record for consecutive scoreless innings, surpassing Cla Meredith. So, with a four-run lead in the ninth inning, the Padres sent Miller out to shut down the Cubs and finish the win for San Diego. It was not a save situation, but the best reliever in baseball was San Diego’s best chance to finish the win against a dangerous Chicago lineup.
However, Miller’s scoreless inning streak was about to come to an untimely end.
A Controversial Fair Ball
Right off the bat, Miller was dealing with a suboptimal defensive arrangement. Journeyman first baseman Ty France was playing third base, replacing Manny Machado, who had been injured mid-game. France had registered just 138 innings at third base since 2020, the year San Diego traded him to the Seattle Mariners. That’s the equivalent of 15.3 games. Now back with the Padres, France had been used exclusively as a first baseman in 2026, until last night, when San Diego called him in to play third base midgame.
Perhaps, if Machado had been playing third, he would not have made the mistake France made. Matt Shaw, leading off the ninth inning for the Cubs, hit a soft ground ball down the third base line. France watched the ball roll to the left side of the foul line, and picked it up to return it to Miller, assuming the ball was foul.
Shane Livensparger, the third base umpire, disagreed. He ruled the ball fair, on the grounds that it was still touching the foul line when France picked it up. Had France waited a few more seconds to touch the ball, it probably would have rolled foul. Regardless, fans were split over whether Livensparger made the right call.
Talkin’ Baseball called the ball “clearly foul.” Another X user, Herb Lawrence, called it the worst call in the history of the sport.
Another x user zoomed in on the ball to point out that it did not appear to be touching the foul line.
Regardless of whether the call was correct or not, the result was an infield single, which kicked off the Cubs’ rally that would end Miller’s streak.
The Streak Ends, but the Padres Still Win
With Shaw aboard, Dansby Swanson came to the plate and knocked a single into left field. Pete Crow-Armstrong followed that up with a single into right field that loaded the bases with nobody out.
That brought up Nico Hoerner, who grounded out to second base. San Diego’s second baseman, Jake Cronenworth, chose to get the easy out at first base, allowing Shaw to score from third base, ending Miller’s scoreless streak. Miller would sit down the next two batters in order, but Swnaosn also scored on a wild pitch. Still, the Padres won 9-7.
It is worth noting that even if Shaw had not reached base on an infield single, it’s possible Miller’s scoreless streak still would have come to an end. Assuming Swanson and Crow-Armstrong still reach base with singles, that would place runners on first and second with one out during Hoerner’s at-bat. If Cronenworth had taken the out at first base, Swanson would have still advanced to third and would have still scored on a wild pitch, ending Miller’s streak.
Or, it’s possible that if Miller had gotten the first out, he would not have made the mistakes he made later in the inning.
After the game, Miller told reporters he cared most about protecting the win.
“Padres win, that’s what matters at the end of the day,” Miller said.
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