Game 2 calls draw more scrutiny

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NEW YORK -- A forgettable fall for umpires rolled on Thursday night with two more blown calls, both occurring in the late innings of Game 2 of the World Series.

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AP Photo/David J. PhillipJoe Girardi argued with umpire Brian Gorman for naught; Johnny Damon's smash to Ryan Howard at first was ruled a catch.

With one out in the seventh and runners on first and second, Johnny Damon hit a smash to Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard.

Umpire Brian Gorman, standing behind the 6-foot-4 Howard, immediately threw his arm up to indicate the ball was caught in the air, but TV replays indicated it bounced into Howard's glove.

"Did I catch it?" Howard said after the Yankees' 3-1 victory that evened the World Series at one game apiece. "Well, he called him out."

Howard took a few steps toward first before throwing to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who tagged Jorge Posada to complete the inning-ending double play.

Posada stood on second for a few moments before bounding off the base to protest the call, and manager Joe Girardi came out of the dugout to argue.

The umpires gathered in the infield after the players returned to their dugouts, but the ruling stood.

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"The objective is to get it right, we asked each other what we had seen and the replay confirmed we got it right," crew chief Jerry Davis said, according to the New York Post.

In the eighth, with runners on first and second, the Phillies' Chase Utley was called out by Gorman on an inning-ending double play. Replays showed Utley was safe.

"On the replay it looked like there was a little bit of ball outside [Mark Teixeira's] glove," Gorman said, according to the Post. "It's what we call a whacker."

Neither Utley nor first-base coach Davey Lopes argued Gorman's call.

"It was one of those close plays," Utley said. "I guess it could go either way. I haven't seen the replay. If you say I was safe, then I guess I was safe."

"Utley was safe," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.

A series of umpiring mistakes during the playoffs has led to calls for expanded use of instant replay, but commissioner Bud Selig said before the game he still believes it's not necessary. Selig did promise more discussion of the topic.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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