Roy Halladay is (insert adjective here) : Masterful. Dominant. Skillful. Brilliant. Gutsy.
That is what Roy Halladay was tonight. He performed surgery on the Nationals, pitching a complete game in the Phils 3-2 win Wednesday night in Washington.
Halladay was ruthlessly effective, walking only two and striking out nine. He painted the corners extremely well and, as always, lived up to his Cy Young Award-winning reputation, despite home plate umpire, Al Porter’s incredibly small strike zone.
However, things got a bit “dicey” in the bottom of the ninth as those pesky Nats attempted a comeback. Although it was never in doubt for Roy Halladay.
The Nats scored two runs in the ninth, off of Halladay. Doc struck out Matt Stairs on three straight fastballs with runners on 1st and 2nd for the second out. Roy struck out Ivan Rodriguez on a nasty curveball on the outside corner to end the game and the Fightin’ Phillies faithful erupted in cheers. Never in doubt.
The line for Doc was incredible: nine innings of work, two runs allowed on six hits, two walks and nine strike outs. He threw 123 pitches, 88 of them for strikes.
Halladay also mastered ex-Phillie Jayson Werth, striking him out twice.
Halladay improved his record to 2-0. His opponent, John Lannan, on the other hand probably pitched just as well, but ultimately would get saddled with the “L”.
Lannan, the little lefty for Washington, went six innings, gave up three runs, two of which were earned on six hits. Lannan also struck out three and walked three.
Lannan is now 0-9 in his career against the Phillies.
The Phillies offense carved their lead in the 4th and 5th innings. It started with an RBI groundout from Ben Francisco in the 4th. It continued into the 5th when Placido Polanco lined an RBI single to shallow right to make it 2-0 Phils.
Later in the 5th, Lannan plunked Ryan Howard on the hands with the bases loaded, which scored Roy Halladay to make it 3-0.
Howard got X-rays after the game and they came back negative. He said his wrist was a sore and stiff and he was going to ice it back at the hotel, tweeted Todd Zolecki.
2B: Victorino (3).
WP: Roy Halladay (2-0, 1.23 ERA). LP: John Lannan (1-1, 3.38 ERA).
Things we found out tonight:
- What is it with John Lannan with hitting Phillies batters on the hands?
- Roy Halladay, ’nuff said.
- Guessing that bullpen’s phone was on voicemail the whole night. Yes, even in the ninth.
- Roy Halladay strikes out TRIPLE the amount of hitters as the Washington Nationals walk.
Tomorrow’s match-up: Cliff Lee (1-1, 7.84 ERA) vs. Jordan Zimmerman (1-1, 3.18 ERA)
TTB 