The NL East hasn’t seen a pitching rivalry like the one Roy Halladay and Josh Johnson created the last three seasons since the Cole Hamels v. Johan Santana battles in 2007 and 2008.
In the two pitchers’ fourth match up against each other since Halladay joined the division in 2010, Halladay reigned supreme as the Phillies won, 6-1, Wednesday night.
Doc was good and that’s all he can do every five days. He mastered the Marlins through seven innings, allowing only one run on five hits and a walk with three strike outs.
By the time Halladay was at 109 pitches through seven innings, the Phillies held a 6-1 lead, more than enough cushion for the bull pen to finish off the Marlins.
Halladay’s only blemish came in the 2nd inning when Johnson drove in Omar Infante on a ground out to give Johnson a 1-0 lead on the master. Though Halladay found himself in early trouble, he settled down the rest of the way.
Halladay got his offensive production in the 3rd period. With one out, Juan Pierre singled then stole second to get into scoring position (though replays repeatedly showed Marlins catcher John Buck threw Pierre out).
Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins and Hunter Pence each followed with RBI singles to give the Phillies a quick 3-1 lead. With two outs and the bases loaded, Freddy Galvis ripped a double into right field to score two more and make it a 5-1 lead, blowing the game wide open.
2B: Galvis (2), Ruiz (1). HR: Ruiz (1).
WP: Halladay (2-0). LP: Johnson (0-2).
TTB 