Charlie Manuel tried to squeeze one more inning out of his starter but quite possibly at the cost of the game.
Starter Roy Halladay ran out of juice in the 8th and the Marlins capitalized, winning 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Chris Coghlan was the hero of the night for Florida. He had a pair of hits, including the eventual game-winning single in the 8th inning off Doc.
Both Halladay and Marlins starter Josh Johnson were great in their starts. Halladay allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits and two walks while striking out nine in an eight-inning complete game.
But Johnson was a little better, allowing a run on six hits and three walks while striking out seven. He loaded the bases twice and got out of both jams unharmed.
The Phillies struck first in the 2nd inning with a solo shot by Ryan Howard off Johnson. But the Marlins answered in the 3rd when Halladay walked Johnson, who advanced to third on a Coghlan double and was driven in by Emilio Bonafacio.
The Phillies should have brought more home in the 2nd. After Howard’s homer, the Phillies loaded the bases with no outs but Dan Sardinha and Halladay both struck out and Jimmy Rollins grounded out to end the threat.
The Phillies loaded the bases again with two outs in the 3rd but Pete Orr grounded out to end the inning.
Halladay did something he had never done before in his career in the 3rd. He walked Johnson to lead off the inning. It was the first time in is career he had ever walked the opposing pitcher.
It was also Halladay’s fourth start in his career against Johnson. In those four starts, Halladay is 1-3 with a 1.74 ERA. The one win was his perfect game on May 29, 2010.
2B: Ibanez (6). HR: Howard (8).
WP: Johnson (4-1). LP: Halladay (5-2). S: Nunez (12).
TTB 