MLB, ump admit error, giving Braves win

Major League Baseball and umpire Jerry Meals agree Meals made the wrong call in the Braves' 4-3, 19-inning win over Pittsburgh early Wednesday morning in Atlanta.

Meals ruled Pittsburgh catcher Mike McKenry failed to tag Atlanta's Julio Lugo in the bottom of the 19th, allowing Lugo to score the winning run. Replays showed McKenry clearly tagging Lugo before Lugo reached the plate.

The Pirates filed a formal complaint hours after the longest game in team history, and MLB executive vice president for baseball operations Joe Torre said it appeared Meals missed the call.

Later Wednesday, Meals said he saw in his review of the play that Lugo's pants moved slightly when tagged. Meals said that showed him he missed the call.

"After coming into the locker room, I reviewed the incident through our videos that we have in here and after seeing a few of them, on one particular replay, I was able to see that Lugo's pant leg moved ever so slightly when the swipe tag was attempted by McKenry," Meals said. "That's telling me that I was incorrect in my decision and that he should have been ruled out and not safe." Meals' statement Wednesday was stronger than his comment after the game that he "might" have missed the call.

"You can watch that tape a hundred times and there's no 'might' about what happened," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Wednesday.

Hurdle said he wanted the clear acknowledgment from Meals that he missed the call. "I think that would be appropriate," Hurdle said before Meals released his statement. "It would be professional. It would be respectful. And then we could all move on." -- AP