Umpire Missed Call That Ended Pirates’ 19-Inning Loss to Braves, MLB Says

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ protest following their 19-inning loss to the Atlanta Braves resulted in Major League Baseball officials acknowledging an umpire’s mistake.

The July 26 game ended when home plate umpire Jerry Meals failed to call an out when Pittsburgh catcher Michael McKenry tagged Julio Lugo at home. Atlanta won the game 4-3.

“Unfortunately, it appears the call was missed, as Jerry Meals acknowledged after the game,” Joe Torre, baseball’s executive vice president for baseball operations, said yesterday in a statement. “Many swipe tags are not applied to the runner with solid contact, but the tag was applied and the game should have remained tied.”

The Pirates (53-49) are third in the six-team National League Central Division.

“While we cannot begin to understand how umpire Jerry Meals did not see the tag made by Michael McKenry three feet in front of home plate, we do not question the integrity of Mr. Meals,” Pirates President Frank Coonelly said on the team’s website. “Instead, we know that Mr. Meals’ intention was to get the call right. He got this one wrong.”

The teams played again last night at Turner Field in Atlanta. The Braves needed only 10 innings to win 2-1.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net