Utley's Phantom Hit Causes Controversy

Amidst all the joy of the Phillies game-winning run in Game 3 of the NLDS was the play before by Chase Utley that was ruled a hit even though it wasn’t.

Ryan Howard's sacrifice fly off Huston Street in the top of the ninth broke a 5-5 tie but it came after Utley's check-swing infield single that was actually a foul ball because it hit him while he was in the batter's box before rolling fair.

With Jimmy Rollins at second, Utley tried to check his swing, only to dribble the ball up the first-base line. Rockies reliever Huston Street thought for sure it grazed Utley, but played the ball anyway.

Utley, the player at the heart of the controversy, could have added fuel to the fire.

“The ball might have caught me,” Utley said. “Nobody said anything so I ran hard.”

Might have nothing, Street said.

“He told (Tulowitzki) 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 (Helton)'s foot is pretty clearly on the base.”

“I didn't get too excited about it at the time because the game has to go on. You have to try to get out of the inning. That's part of the game and you understand that, but tonight it was frustrating, especially when the fly ball (by Howard) would have been the third out.”

“I saw it hit him. I hesitated,'' Street said. "But Chase took off and then I thought in my mind it's a free out. It turned out to be a tougher play ... but I still made the play.''

Street fielded it on the run and lobbed the ball over Utley's head to Helton at first.

The ball appeared to beat Utley to the bag -- and Helton looked to have kept his foot on the bag -- but first base umpire Ron Kulpa ruled Utley safe. Rockies manager Jim Tracy briefly argued before retreating to the dugout.

“The response I got was he came off the base and he was safe anyway,” Tracy said.

Rollins took third on the play and then broke the tie game as he tagged up on Howard's fly to deep center.

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.”

Home plate umpire Jerry Meals told The Associated Press after the game that he missed the call. He said replays showed the ball indeed hit Utley.

“I just saw a ball hit and rolling out there and that's it,” Meals said.

Umpires have had a rocky first week of the playoffs, including an admitted missed call in the eighth inning of Game 2 of the Yankees-Twins series.