For the first time this season, the Phillies didn’t get 10 hits. With Roy Halladay on the mound, they only needed six.
Halladay went the full nine innings to notch his 50th career compete game, and first in his Phillies career. He gave up 7 hits and and unearned run to go along with 8 strikeouts and no walks. We all knew he was the real deal, but it’s still impressive to see a Phillies pitcher throwing the ball like he is right now.
While the offense had been providing all the pitchers with a ton of runs, I guess they thought they could take the day off with Doc on the mound. Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a home run while Carlos Ruiz knocked in Raul Ibanez for the second run.
While the offensive production has been crazy through the first week of the season, it’s good to see the Phillies being able to win a low scoring game.
It’s a bit of a turnaround for the Phillies, going 5-1 in the first week of the season. Being typically a slow starting team in April, it’s good to see they team getting off to a fast start.
With the Washington Nationals coming to town tomorrow for the first home series of the season, it’s a great opportunity to continue this hot streak.
In a rematch from last week, Cole Hamels goes against Jason Marquis in the home opener. Hollywood labored through his five innings last week, but still got the win. The offense will bail him out more than a few times this season, but he’ll need to improve after seeing what Halladay has done in his two starts.
Being off to their best start since 1993 is a great thing for the Phillies, but we have to bear in mind that it was against the Nationals and Astros. The offensive numbers will come down eventually, but it’s great to see that the Phillies aren’t failing to deliver on the lofty expectations deservedly placed on them.
