JJ, Marlins fall in Doc's perfect game Unearned run proves very costly in close loss

MIAMI -- Josh Johnson was very good on Saturday night. What the Marlins ace wasn't was perfect. He needed to be on a day that will go down as one for the ages.
Roy Halladay, already regarded as one of the best of his era, cemented his legacy by tossing a perfect game against the Marlins.
On a night of razor-thin margin for error, the Marlins made a costly one, and Halladay made history. In front of 25,086, the right-hander's brilliance punctuated a 1-0 Phillies victory at Sun Life Stadium.
Halladay retired all 27 Marlins he faced, striking out 11. There were a few anxious moments, as he had seven counts reach three balls. In six of them, he ran the count full, only to frustrate Florida.
"You've got to take your hat off to the Doc," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "That's why he is what he is. That's what they got him for. Maybe, five, 10 years, I'll sit back and enjoy this one. We still wish we could have scored a run. Right now, you've got to tip your hat to him."
Halladay tossed the 20th perfect game in MLB history, and remarkably two have come in this month. On May 9, Dallas Braden of the A's retired every batter he faced from the Rays in Oakland.
The sting, from the Marlins end, is that they lost their fourth consecutive game, a season high. And the lone run came as a result of an error.
"We should still be playing," Gonzalez said. "Deep down inside, we should still be out there. Make an error and they score a run. That's what hurts."
In defeat, Johnson was impressive, striking out six in seven innings. Johnson entered the game with a string of 18 consecutive scoreless innings, and that was snapped at 20, with an unearned run.
"He was perfect," Johnson said. "I need to go out there and be perfect as well. To give my team a chance to win, that's what I needed to do."...........read more