Game Recap:
Roy Halladay won his 150th career game and pitched his first complete game as a Phillie, shutting down the Astros as the Phils finished up the three game sweep.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins went 2-4 with a leadoff home run. He's scored a run in every game the Phillies have played so far.
Raul Ibanez was 1-4 with a double and a run scored.
Roy Halladay pitched a complete game, allowing one unearned run on seven hits. He didn't walk a batter, struck out eight, and went 1-3 at the plate.
What went wrong?
Ryan Howard went 0-4 with three strikeouts.
Jayson Werth went 0-3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
Placido Polanco went 0-3, ending his early season hitting streak.
Game Analysis:
Pitching duels aren't always fun to write about, but they can be very fun to watch. That was the case today, as the Phillies outlasted the Astros, thanks to Roy Halladay's first complete game of the season. Sure, it's only the second time he's started this year, but it needs to be mentioned.
With the Phillies going up against Roy Oswalt, they had to get up early, and that's exactly what they did. Jimmy Rollins took the second pitch of the game and put it into the right field seats to give the Phils a 1-0 lead. Just as they've been doing all year so far, the Phillies ran Oswalt through the wringer, forcing him to throw a ton of pitches, even though they weren't scoring many runs. After Raul Ibanez scored on a Carlos Ruiz ground out in the second inning, the Phils wouldn't score again on the day, but it didn't matter. Oswalt was gone after 114 pitches in the sixth inning, as the Phillies have tried their hardest to keep to my mantra of having a starting pitcher throw 20 pitches an inning. Against Houston, they worked it to perfection, and it paid off with a series sweep. To put things in comparison, Roy Halladay threw just 111 pitches in nine innings.
Today's game begins and ends with Halladay. After pitching well in his Phillies debut, he pitched even better today, striking out eight in nine innings and getting himself out of trouble in the sixth and seventh innings. That is what an ace is supposed to do when he gets into trouble, and that's what Halladay did today. In the sixth inning, the Astros had the bases loaded with no one out, and Halladay managed to get out of the inning with just a single run crossing the plate. That's the true sign of a number one pitcher, and it's something that Phillies fans should get used to seeing over the next three years, at least. The way Halladay has pitched so far has to have people forgetting about Cliff Lee, especially with Lee on the disabled list until May.
After five straight games with double digit hits, you knew that the Phils would run into a pitcher's duel eventually. It wasn't pretty today, with Ryan Howard striking out three times and the Phillies as a team fannng ten times, but the fact of the matter is that the Phillies won the game. In the end, that's all that matters. This team is going to go up against top tier pitching all year. They'll face pitchers like Roy Oswalt, Tim Lincecum and Johan Santana. What matters is whether or not they can do enough to beat them. Today, they did. Roy Halladay pitched a gem, and the Phils are off to their best start since the 1993 season, which also started with an early season sweep of Houston.
Tomorrow, the Phillies finally come home for the first time this year. Cole Hamels (1-0, 3.60 ERA) takes on Jason Marquis (0-1, 13.50 ERA) for the second time. I sure hope Ryan Howard takes Marquis deep again. It would make my day.
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