WILL REPLAYS BRING BACK FAIR PLAY?

DENVER- Home plate umpire Jerry Meals says he missed a key call that helped the Phillies beat the Rockies early Monday morning. Brad Lidge closed out a 6-5 win at 2:13 a.m. ET to help the Phillies take a 2-1 lead over Colorado in their best-of-five National League Division Series.

But Home plate umpire Jerry Meals says he missed a key call that helped the Phillies beat the Rockies early Monday morning.

Meals told The Associated Press after the game that he missed a call in the ninth inning that allowed Chase Utley to reach base and Jimmy Rollins to take third base.

Ryan Howard's sacrifice fly on the next play off Huston Street broke a 5-5 tie and gave the Phillies the go-ahead run in the game.

Utley's check-swing infield single that should have been ruled a foul ball because it hit him while he was in the batter's box before rolling fair.

Crew chief Gerry Davis said blown calls like this one bother the umpires as much as they do everyone else.

"We're judged not by excellence, but by perfection," he said. "Our job is to get every call correct. That's what we aspire to do. Perfection is very tough. That's a tough aspiration."

Utley had little to say after the game ended well after 2 a.m. in Philadelphia.

Street said Utley knew he was hit by the ball.

"He told 'Tulo when he got to second it hit him," Street said. "You can see on the replay it clearly hit him. It was a close play at first. On the replay Todd's foot is pretty clearly on the base.”

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