Game Recap:
Roy Halladay threw a complete game shutout, and Shane Victorino drove in three as the Phillies evened their series against the Mets.
What went right?
Shane Victorino went 2-5 with a three run home run.
Chase Utley went 3-5 with three runs scored.
Jayson Werth was 2-3 with a walk, two RBI and three runs scored.
Raul Ibanez went 1-4 with two RBI.
Carlos Ruiz was 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Juan Castro was 1-3 with two RBI and a walk.
Roy Halladay pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just three hits. He struck out six and walked just one. He also went 1-4 at the plate with a run scored.
What went wrong?
Placido Polanco went 0-5, making him the only Phillies player not to get a hit.
Game Analysis:
In case anyone was wondering who the slump buster for the Phillies is, I think you have your answer now. Roy Halladay came out today and pitched lights out for the Phils, shutting the Mets down and ending their eight game winning streak with a three hit shutout that hopefully will help push the Phillies back in the right direction.
What else can honestly be said about Roy Halladay? After having an average outing against the San Francisco Giants, he came back today with his second complete game shutout of the season, and his third complete game of the year. For the season, he's allowed just eight earned runs, and his 1.47 ERA is sixth in all of baseball, and that's with one loss thrown in there. Quite honestly, he's the ace that has been missing from the Phillies since the prime of Curt Schilling, and everyone should expect that he is going to win every start like this. That's how good he is. In the last four innings of the game today, he needed only 37 pitches to finish the Mets. To put that into comparison, Kyle Kendrick threw almost 30 pitches in the second inning yesterday. Halladay had a few moments today, but he managed to get out of them, and the Phillies got the win.
After struggling so much against the Giants and in the first game of this series, the offense actually got back on track, and it was led by Shane Victorino. A lot of people, myself included, have said that Victorino is not a leadoff batter, but today, he did everything that Jimmy Rollins can do against the Mets. His three run home run in the fourth inning helped break open the game and chased Mike Pelfrey from the game. The fourth wasn't necessarily the cleanest inning that the Phillies have ever had, but after the luck that they had on their road trip, I'm sure that they will take it. Pelfrey looked mortal once again, and the bats came to life when they had the chance to bury the Mets. This looked more like the offense that was great during the first few series this year.
The struggles of the early part of the season are hopefully now behind the Phillies. They still trail the Mets in the standings, but May has just started, and the Mets needed an eight game winning streak to get to where they are. No one knows how New York is going to be this year, but with Roy Halladay leading the way for the Phillies, this team is going to be in the hunt all season long. Today might just be a quick glimpse of something, but if it's not, then this team could be back on track, and that's trouble for the rest of the National League.
Tomorrow night, Jamie Moyer (2-2, 5.25 ERA), looks for the series win as he faces off against Johan Santana (3-1, 2.08 ERA). Hopefully, some of those runs the Phillies scored today will carry over into tomorrow.
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