The longest game in Atlanta Braves history ended at 1:50 a.m. Wednesday on a call so controversial, it more than made up for any the Braves felt went against them earlier.
Julio Lugo slid and was called safe on a play at the plate in the 19th inning for a 4-3 win against Pittsburgh at Turner Field, though replays clearly showed Pirates catcher Michael McKenry applied the tag well before Lugo touched the plate.
"That’s the way baseball goes," said Braves relief pitcher Scott Proctor (2-3), whose fielder's choice grounder to third with one out gave him both a win and a game-winning RBI. "I’m not saying anything else.”
The weary Braves had a 4-3 win over the Pirates that took six hours and 39 minutes, cost Atlanta its All-Star catcher for at least the next 15 days, and might have provided further impetus for Braves general manager Frank Wren to make a trade this week to strengthen the team's offense.
As inconsistent as that offense has been lately, it's now without its best hitter for a while after Brian McCann injured the oblique muscle in his left side while making a throw to second base in the 10th inning. He'll go on the 15-day disabled list and Triple-A journeyman J.C. Boscan will serve as David Ross' backup until McCann returns.
"Chipper [Jones] will be back in a couple of days," Ross said. "Get him back, we'll be alright. We really need Mac, though. It’s going to be a big loss. There’s no way to hide that. The guy's a stud. He's an MVP candidate.
"There’s no way to replace that. I’m just going to try to do the best I can and play my game and try to help this team win.”
Wren was on a cell phone in his private suite above home plate, talking with someone during the seventh inning as he watched his hitters flail on the field below during the longest game ever played by either the Atlanta Braves or the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Braves went 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position Tuesday after going 0-for-5 in those situations during Monday's 3-1 series-opening loss to the Pirates. They left 23 runners on base Tuesday and had 15 hits, all singles, including two from McCann before he left in the 10th.
The game lasted 29 minutes longer than the previous longest in Atlanta history, a 19-inning game against the New York mets on July 4, 1985 at Fulton County Stadium.
The Call
Perhaps one-fourth of an announced crowd of 22,036 remained in the ballpark when Proctor grounded to third and Lugo raced home, sliding into McKenry. Some Braves feared would be an inning-ending double play because Proctor slipped and fell coming out of the batter's box, and looked as if he'd probably be thrown out at first by McKenry after the tag at home.
When home-plate umpire Jerry Meals made the safe signal, McKenry seethed in utter disbelief and manager Clint Hurdle raced from the dugout to argue with the ump. Meanwhile, Braves players raced from their own dugout to mob Proctor, still making his way toward first base.
"He made the right call," Lugo said, raising his eyebrows and smiling. "I know I'm safe."
“I was just thinking get to first because you don’t want to be doubled up," Proctor said. "I slipped coming out of the box. When they showed the [replay of the] play at home, I was still in the frame. That’s how bad it was. It was pretty bad.
"Very easily [could have been a double play]. The only reason it wasn’t was because he [McKenry] argued."
That and the fact that Meals called Lugo safe at home, obviously eliminating any chance of a double play. Game over.
“The game tonight deserved way better than that," Hurdle said. "For it to end that way is as disappointing as it gets in this game.”
Meals was asked by a pool reporter about the call and why he thought Lugo was safe.
"I saw the tag, but he looked like he oléd him and I called him safe for that," he said. "I looked at the replays and it appeared he might have got him on the shin area. I’m guessing he might have got him, but when I was out there when it happened I didn’t see a tag.
"I just saw the glove sweep up. I didn’t see the glove hit his leg."
“Just reading his lips, he thought he missed the tag at the plate," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to see the replay.”
Gonzalez was in the clubhouse at the time, having been ejected in the ninth inning with center fielder Nate McLouth. They got tossed after McLouth argued a called third strike, the second time in the game that he disputed a called strike by Meals.
After Meals made a game-ending call that could be used in future arguments for expanded use of replay, the Braves counted their blessings and mustered enough energy to celebrate a bit before heading to the clubhouse, utterly exhausted.
"He looked out to me, but I haven’t seen the replay," Ross said. "It’s one of those things, I’m glad it happened to us. He looked out, but I don’t know what his explanation is, what he saw.”
“He was safe," said Braves reliever Cristhian Martinez, who had earlier shown a some displeasure with Meals' strike zone. "We got one call all night. We got the best one on that one.”
Nobody came up bigger in the game for the Braves than Martinez, who allowed two hits in six scoreless innings through the 16th, and also chipped in with a single and two sacrifice bunts. The slender right-hander struck out the side in the 15th inning to give seven Braves pitchers a combined total of 20 strikeouts, including six apiece by starter Tommy Hanson and Martinez.
“For me the MVP was Cristhian Martinez," Gonzalez said. "He did one heck of a job.”
Proctor pitched the last three innings and allowed one hit, three walks and no runs, a much better performance than most of his recent spotty outings. He reduced his bloated ERA to 6.48.
Battle of attrition
The negative for the Braves was McCann, who left after making an errant throw to second on a stolen base in the 10th. The throw sailed to center field, and he limped noticeably afterward.
After a visit with the team trainer on the mound, McCann tested his side with a throw back to the pitcher, immediately signaling that he couldn’t continue. Ross caught the rest of the game and will slip into every-day mode now as the primary catcher while McCann is recovering.
“Yeah, I mean there’s not really a choice," Ross said. "That’s why they have me here. They have me here as a backup, as insurance. They pay me a lot of money to do that. I welcome the challenge."
Schafer was also hit in the left wrist by a pitch in the 11th inning, not far from the chip fracture in his left middle finger that’s kept him out of five consecutive starts. He was scratched from the lineup Tuesday, but entered as a late-innings defensive replacement.
With the Braves running out of players, he stayed in the game after being hit.
"We didn’t have anyone else," he said. "It wasn't broken or anything. My finger bothered me more than my wrist [where he was hit by the pitch]. … It hurt at first. I got me right on the bone. It wasn't that bad, though."
Schafer singled after Lugo's one-out walk in the 19th inning, then advanced to second on catcher's indifference to put two runners in scoring position with one out and Proctor batting.
Lowe was ready to pitch
Proctor was the Braves' last relief pitcher, and would have pitched one more inning if the game continued. Gonzalez said starter Derek Lowe was about to warm up to take over after that, if it had been necessary.
But he didn't have to. Not after Lugo slid and Meals, after a moment of hesitation, spread his arms to signal safe. The Braves had won a game in which they twice had failed to score after putting two runners on base with none out, including once when they had runners at second and third with none out in the sixth inning.
“It was crazy," Lugo said of the mind-numbing marathon. "But it was good.”
Jason Heyward’s two-run, two-out single capped a three-run third inning tied the score for the Braves, but most of rest of their offensive story was about missed opportunities. They went 2-for-19 with runners in scoring position, after going 0-for-5 in those spots during Monday’s 3-1 loss that opened the four-game series.
They had two on and none out in the 12th inning before Dan Uggla lined out, Alex Gonzalez grounded out and, after an intentional walk to Heyward loaded the bases, Lugo grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.
Hanson gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings, including two runs in the first inning. It marked the seventh time in eight games that the Braves trailed after the first inning, and eighth consecutive game in which the opposition scored first in either the first or second inning.
The Pirates got their first-inning runs on three hits including a Neil Walker triple off the right-field wall and two-out single by Pedro Alvarez, then pushed the lead to 3-0 on Michael McKenry’s second-inning homer off Hanson.
But after the McKenry homer, the right-hander retired nine of the next 10 batters, then struck out Alvarez with two on to end the fifth.
Braves second baseman Dan Uggla had singles in his first two at-bats, extending his career-best hitting streak to 17 games and raising his average to .200 for the first time since May 16. But by the end of his 2-for-8 night, he was back at .199.
Freddie Freeman was 3-for-7 for the Braves and made two diving defensive plays in extra innings.
Uggla had the third of three consecutive two-out singles in the third inning off Jeff Karstens. After Uggla drove in the Braves’ first run, Eric Hinske drew a walk and Heyward lined a single up the middle to bring in two runs for a 3-all tie.
There was not another run scored for the next 15 innings, and the Pirates would argue there wasn't one scored for the next 16.
