Roy Halladay won his 16th game of the season and the Phillies recorded their 18th team shutout, winning the second game of their series against the Reds by a 9-0 score.
What went right?
Ryan Howard was 2-5 with two home runs and three RBI, giving him 100 RBI for the sixth time in this career.
Hunter Pence was 2-5, scoring two runs and hitting a solo home run.
Raul Ibanez started for the first time in almost a week, going 3-5 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI.
Roy Halladay pitched seven shutout innings, getting his 16th win of the season. He allowed two hits, walked two and struck out nine, while also hitting a three run double in the sixth inning to completely blow the game open.
Brad Lidge and Michael Schwimer worked clean innings in the 8th and 9th innings to hold the shut out.
What went wrong?
Placido Polanco was 0-5.
Yep, that's all I've got.
Game Analysis:
When you give Roy Halladay an eight day rest and put him up against the Cincinnati Reds, good things tend to happen. The last time it happened, Halladay pitched the second ever no hitter in playoff history, and tonight, while he didn't throw a no hitter, he did keep the Reds from crossing the plate and drove in three runs of his own to give the Phils their second straight win and push them to 39 games over .500.
After two straight starts without a win (neither of which was really his fault), Roy Halladay came out again tonight and showed how good he can be. The Reds mounted a little bit of offense in the first inning, but after that, Roy was cruising, and he had little problems through the rest of the game. He struck out at least one batter in each inning he pitched, and added to his own cause in the sixth inning with a bases clearing double that drove in three. The RBI were the first of the season for Halladay and put the final touches on Bronson Arroyo's night as well.
The rest of the offense did a good job tonight as well, giving Halladay more than enough runs to take care of business. After a lackluster game last night, Ryan Howard hit two home runs and reached 100 RBI for the sixth season in a row. He still strikes out a ton, and his batting average is on pace for a career low, but the fact still remains that Howard drives in runs and hit home runs. During the late months, he always seems to be able to put the offense on his back for stretches, and he can turn his power on like a light switch. Meanwhile, Hunter Pence has been simply outstanding as a member of the Phillies, hitting his sixth home run with the team tonight and driving in another run. Since he was traded, Pence has hit those six home runs, driven in 15 runs and scored another 16. Not bad for someone who had the weight of an entire city weighing on him when he got to Philadelphia.
Raul Ibanez had a good night as well as he returned to the starting lineup. Ibanez has struggled this season, and is going to see more of his playing time going to John Mayberry, but tonight, he looked like the Raul of old, hitting a home run and scoring twice while driving in two runs of his own as well. Though Ibanez isn't going to be the same hitter than he was when the Phillies signed him, they still need him to produce when he's in the lineup, especially against pitchers that he can hit. Tonight was one of those occasions, and Ibanez rose to the challenge. That's what the Phils need out of his bat the rest of the way. If they can get that, as well as production from Mayberry when he's in the lineup, then the offense is going to be just fine.
So far, so good when it comes to this series in Cincinnati. The Phils have held the highest scoring team in the National League to just two runs in two games, while scoring 12 themselves. Cole Hamels looked good in his first start off the DL last night and Roy Halladay was simply Roy Halladay on the mound tonight. With the Braves losing today, the lead in the National League East grew to 7.5 games, and with 30 games to play, the Phillies can go .500 the rest of the season and still win 100 games.
Sometimes, it's nice to be on top.
Tomorrow, Cliff Lee (14-7, 2.71 ERA) goes against Dontrelle Willis (Hey Remember Him? 0-3, 4.10 ERA). Seriously, this almost isn't fair right now.
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