Through the first three weeks of the 2026 season, things have been different for the Colorado Rockies. On the field under manager Warren Schaeffer and new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta, there is a different vibe than in the three previous seasons, where they lost 100-plus games.
They split a weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at home, something not many people had on their bingo card to begin the season. On Tuesday night, the Rockies opened a three-game series with the San Diego Padres at Coors Field and the best play of the game was made in the stands.
Rockies Fan Lays Out for Foul Ball in Incredible Video
Mickey Moniak | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
In the top of the eighth inning and the Padres leading 1-0, Jackson Merrill launched a deep foul ball down the right field line that landed in the stands. A normal foul ball in an MLB game, right? Well, one Colorado fan made sure he wasn’t leaving Coors Field without the ball.
Merrill’s flyball caused one fan to lie out to grab the ball and land on his back onto some empty seats along the rightfield line. That is an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 play. Heck, that is a top-1-or-2 play if we’re being honest. It shouldn’t be surprising that it got the loudest cheer of the night.
He REALLY wanted that ball pic.twitter.com/NTbNxh7btS
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 22, 2026
That is certainly a play you don’t see every day, if ever, in the stands of an MLB game. The fan turned backward to the field and laid out to get a foul ball. Sure, if he doesn’t do that, then he doesn’t get it, which is dedication. It is rare and something you just don’t see. The catch caught on with social media, where some were calling it the catch of the year.
As far as the result on the field goes, for Denver and Coors Field, the result was just as surprising as the play in the stands for the foul ball. In fact, it was the first time in 21 years that a road team won a 1-0 at Coors Field. The last team to do it was the Padres in 2005, also in April that season.
The lone run was scored on a bases-loaded walk to Manny Machado in the top of the sixth inning. Up until that inning, Colorado’s Chase Dollander had retired 12 straight San Diego batters before a Jake Cronenworth double began the rally.
It was a game that you rarely see in Coors Field, a 1-0 final, but it also included an incredible catch by a fan for a foul ball. Who doesn’t love baseball?
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