Jim Joyce’s bad call costs Armando Galarraga perfect game

It would have been 27 up, 27 down for Armando Galarraga, the unprecedented third perfect game of the 2010 season. But Jim Joyce had something to say about that. The first-base umpire made a bad call on a bang-bang play that should have ended the game against the Indians, denying Galarraga a place in history. The hit came courtesy of Jason Donald on a slow roller to Miguel Cabrera at first base. Galarraga ran to cover, but had trouble finding the bag on the play. That he did find it anyway proved meaningless. Donald was called safe despite being a half step slow. Galarraga then retired Trevor Crowe on a groundout to end the game with a 3-0 score. It was the first career complete game for Galarraga, who entered 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA in his two starts this season. The Tigers considered sending him down over the weekend to make room for Max Scherzer in the rotation, but they designated Dontrelle Willis for assignment instead.