Game Recap:
Roy Halladay made his playoff debut and pitched a no-hitter, becoming the second pitcher in baseball history to throw a no-hitter in the playoffs. The Phillies lead the NLDS one game to none.
What went right?
Shane Victorino was 2-4 with a run scored a stolen base and two RBI.
Chase Utley drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning.
Wilson freaking Valdez was 1-3 and scored a run.
Carlos Ruiz walked twice and scored a run.
Roy Halladay went 1-3 at the plate, scoring a run and driving in one. Oh, and he also pitched his second no-hitter of the season, and became the second pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the playoffs. He struck out eight and walked just one in his nine innings.
What went wrong?
Jimmy Rollins was 0-3.
Ryan Howard went 0-4 with two strikeouts.
Jayson Werth was 0-4 and struck out twice.
Game Analysis:
Wow, what can you really say about this? The only question coming into Game 1 today was how Roy Halladay would look in his postseason debut. Now, 27 outs later, we have our answer. Roy Halladay was one walk away from throwing his second perfect game of the season, but he settled instead for throwing a no-hitter, the second in playoff history, as the Phils took a one game to none lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the NLDS.
In the Divisional Series, the pressure is always on to win the first game of the series. With that, the team with the lead can worry a bit less about taking the second game, as they know that they'll be tied at worst going to the next two games. If you're the home team, the pressure is even greater. You don't want to give up home field advantage after just one game. When you throw that in with a pitcher making his first playoff start, then there's even more pressure. Today, Roy Halladay took that pressure and rode it all the way to a no-hit win. You might not want to believe it, but Halladay looked better today than he did when he threw his perfect game against the Marlins in May. Almost every one of his pitches was sharp and on target, and he took advantage of the free swinging Reds, striking out eight in nine innings of work. The only batter that reached base was Jay Bruce on a walk in the fifth inning, and that was it.
The offense did their job against Edinson Volquez, as well. Just as they had done against starting pitchers during the later part of the season, the Phillies made Volquez throw pitches early and often. The Phils only got one run in the first inning, but they really came to life in the second. Roy Halladay drove in a run with a single in his first playoff at bat, and Shane Victorino did the rest with a two run single that took Volquez out of the game. Volquez didn't make it through the second inning and allowed four runs on 56 pitches. Travis Wood did a much better job out on the mound for the Reds, holding the Phillies to a single hit and a walk in three and a third innings, but the damage was already done. When you have a pitcher throw a no-hitter, you don't need many runs to get the job done.
It might be a concern with the offense as this series goes on, but right now, it's nothing to worry about. Even though the Phillies only got five hits and three walks, they did what they had to do to win the game. That should be their mindset during the playoffs. With the pitching that the Phils have coming in the first three games of hopefully every series that's coming up, the Phils should just have to score three or four runs to win. While it's not the same as it has been during this recent playoff run, it still counts the same.
Quite simply, that's how you start a playoff series. Roy Halladay couldn't have been better, and the Phillies made playoff history as the first National League team to throw a no-hitter during the playoffs. Cincinnati now has to come back from what they faced tonight, and they don't get to do it tomorrow. The Reds have to stew over this until Friday night, and things don't get any easier for them when Game Two starts. This series isn't over yet, not even close, but the way that Game One went, you have to feel good if you're a Phillies fan.
Let's not start planning a parade yet, though. Ten more wins and we can do that.
On Friday, the Phillies and Reds will square off in Game Two of the NLDS. Roy Oswalt will make his Phillies playoff debut against Bronson Arroyo for the Reds.
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