The Cobra
10-07-2010, 03:25 AM
Roy Halladay No-Hits Cinci
o Tom Krasovic
o Senior MLB Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- October baseball, meet Roy Halladay.
Roy Halladay, welcome to October immortality.
The Phillies ace, appearing in the playoffs for the first time, joined Don Larsen on Wednesday as the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the postseason when he led the defending National League champions to a 4-0 victory, opposite the Cincinnati Reds in the teams' Division Series opener.
"It's surreal, it really is," Halladay said. "I just wanted to pitch here and pitch in the postseason. To be able to go out and have a game like that ... it's a dream come true."
The final out came on a Brandon Phillips dribbler out in front of the plate. Carlos Ruiz scrambled to pick it up, then threw Phillips out from his knees as Citizens Bank Park went wild.
Halladay credited Ruiz with helping him through his historic outing.
"I felt like we got in a groove early," he said. "Carlos has been great all year, he helps me get in a rhythm, throwing a lot of pitches for strikes and getting ahead. Later in the game (we try to) mix pitches well, mix speeds well. He's done a great job for me. I just tried to be aggressive."
A crowd of 46,411 at Philadelphia's home park roared as Halladay carved up the NL's top-scoring offense, and save a full-count walk to slugger to Jay Bruce with two outs in the fifth inning, Halladay might have matched Larsen's perfect game for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
A seven-time All-Star who won the American League's Cy Young award with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2003, Halladay was new to the playoff stage, but the bearded redhead looked as comfortable as he did on May 29, when he threw a perfect game against the Florida Marlins.
The right-hander, 33, began by retiring 14 consecutive hitters.
Then came the walk to Bruce on a full-count cut fastball. Stranding Bruce, the Reds' No. 7 hitter Drew Stubbs followed with a force out.
Giving himself one of four early runs, Halladay hit an RBI single as part of a three-run second inning against Edinson Volquez.
Shane Victorino doubled and scored in the first, staking Halladay to a 1-0 lead.
"We're just going to act like this never happened," said Reds manager Dusty Baker.
o Tom Krasovic
o Senior MLB Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- October baseball, meet Roy Halladay.
Roy Halladay, welcome to October immortality.
The Phillies ace, appearing in the playoffs for the first time, joined Don Larsen on Wednesday as the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the postseason when he led the defending National League champions to a 4-0 victory, opposite the Cincinnati Reds in the teams' Division Series opener.
"It's surreal, it really is," Halladay said. "I just wanted to pitch here and pitch in the postseason. To be able to go out and have a game like that ... it's a dream come true."
The final out came on a Brandon Phillips dribbler out in front of the plate. Carlos Ruiz scrambled to pick it up, then threw Phillips out from his knees as Citizens Bank Park went wild.
Halladay credited Ruiz with helping him through his historic outing.
"I felt like we got in a groove early," he said. "Carlos has been great all year, he helps me get in a rhythm, throwing a lot of pitches for strikes and getting ahead. Later in the game (we try to) mix pitches well, mix speeds well. He's done a great job for me. I just tried to be aggressive."
A crowd of 46,411 at Philadelphia's home park roared as Halladay carved up the NL's top-scoring offense, and save a full-count walk to slugger to Jay Bruce with two outs in the fifth inning, Halladay might have matched Larsen's perfect game for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
A seven-time All-Star who won the American League's Cy Young award with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2003, Halladay was new to the playoff stage, but the bearded redhead looked as comfortable as he did on May 29, when he threw a perfect game against the Florida Marlins.
The right-hander, 33, began by retiring 14 consecutive hitters.
Then came the walk to Bruce on a full-count cut fastball. Stranding Bruce, the Reds' No. 7 hitter Drew Stubbs followed with a force out.
Giving himself one of four early runs, Halladay hit an RBI single as part of a three-run second inning against Edinson Volquez.
Shane Victorino doubled and scored in the first, staking Halladay to a 1-0 lead.
"We're just going to act like this never happened," said Reds manager Dusty Baker.