Game Recap:
Roy Halladay only got one run, but it was more than enough, as he pitched the 20th perfect game in baseball history, and the second ever for the Phillies.
What went right?
Well, let's start from the top...
Wilson Valdez was 2-4 with the only run scored in the game.
Juan Castro went 2-4 and had a great stop on a Jorge Cantu hard line drive in the eighth inning.
Carlos Ruiz was 2-4 and caught the perfect game. You have to give some love to the catcher in these games.
Oh, and Roy Halladay pitched a perfect game, retiring all 27 Florida batters that came to the plate. He struck out 11 and obviously didn't walk a batter.
What went wrong?
I could talk about how several Phillies didn't have hits tonight, but honestly, it doesn't matter. Roy Halladay threw a perfect game.
Game Analysis:
Yes, that actually just happened. After being shut out in three straight games against the Mets earlier this week, Roy Halladay managed to cap things by pitching a perfect game. That's not a typo. Halladay faced 27 Florida Marlins, and retired all 27 of them. No walks, no errors, no hits. It was the 20th perfect game in baseball history, and the first that the Phillies have seen since Jim Bunning did it against the Mets back in 1964.
There's really not much to say about the offense tonight, because the Phillies only scored one run. Wilson Valdez came home on a three base error by Cameron Maybin, who lost track of a Chase Utley fly ball in center. The Phillies had plenty of chances, but they couldn't do anything with them. It certainly wasn't a banner offensive night for the Phils, but that's been the case this entire week. At least tonight, they managed to get a run across for Roy Halladay, and that was all that he needed.
What else can you say about Roy Halladay as a Phillie? After back to back losses, the Doc got an extra day of rest before pitching tonight, and it certainly looked like it helped, as he retired the first two batters of the game by strikeout and was in a zone after that. He looked better than he had in each of his last two starts, and when he did get into three ball counts, he managed to get out of them by painting the corners of the plate and getting the Marlins to ground or fly out each and every time. While Halladay has come close to history before, tonight was the first time that he was truly perfect. He came close in his second ever start, pitching eight and a third innings of no-hit ball, but tonight was his first no-hitter, and his first perfect game.
There's really not much else to say about tonight. It was baseball history, and the first no-hitter that the Phillies have been a part of since Kevin Millwood, also wearing number 34, no-hit the Giants by a 1-0 score back in 2003. Roy Halladay was brought to Philadelphia to be the ace for at least the next few years, and he showed why he deserves that praise tonight. It's hard to think that someone would be able to take my attention away from the Flyers playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, but Roy Halladay did just that tonight. Perfection is something that requires your attention, and it got that tonight. For one night, at least, Roy Halladay was perfect.
After being one hit last Saturday, it's amazing that this is the way the Phillies ended this week. Being shut out in four of five games was a horrible feeling, but watching Halladay pitch a perfect game tonight makes it all better. This was like watching a World Series game, I'm not even joking. I watched this game tonight with the same intensity that I've watched the last two World Series. I refused to do anything different than what I was doing in between innings once the fifth inning came into play, that's how I do things. I don't know if that helped Halladay tonight or not, but honestly, I wasn't willing to take that chance. Roy Halladay made history, and I watched the game.
For those of you wondering if this really is the Golden Age of Philadelphia sports, look at this month. The Flyers have come back from being down 3-0, making them the third NHL team to ever achieve that feat, and Roy Halladay just pitched a perfect game. These things happened within two weeks of each other. Let that sink in for a minute. We're spoiled right now, and I'm more than happy to be covering it for all of you.
Tomorrow, Jamie Moyer (5-4, 4.55 ERA) has to follow up history. He goes against Anibal Sanchez (4-2, 3.23 ERA).
The only thing that I wish was different for tonight? That Harry was here to make the call.
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