Doc shuts out Braves going all 9

Written by Mike Mariano | 22 April 2010

Losing four out of five rightly sucked.  As it happens, we had the cure in our back pocket with Roy Halladay.  The Doc dominated through nine innings and only required 113 pitches to go the distance and shut-out the Braves.  The win put the Phillies a game back on top of the division and ahead of the second place Braves (all of which is entirely premature at this point in the season).  From start to finish this was a good baseball game by both teams and it's always good to see your team come out on top of a well-played game.

Defensively, the Phillies were exceptional and perfectly complimented what Roy put together on the mound.  Troy Glaus almost snuck one out of the ballpark, but Shane Victorino snagged it over the wall to keep the Braves scoreless.  Jimmy Rollins made a great play up the middle to get Jayson Heyward on a high-hopping grounder and Chase Utley made a phenomenal diving stop to spark a 4-6-3 double play with the Braves threatening and the bases loaded.  It seemed that every time the Braves made a move, the Phillies had the answer.

Anytime Roy Halladay pitches, it is must-see television for the rest of the season if you've missed any already.  Of all the great things to see in baseball, watching a dominant ace like Roy Halladay pitch is undoubtedly the best.  Great pitchers can turn run of the mill day games into exciting afternoons, simply because of the presence and prowess they possess (holy alliteration) on the mound.  Doc nibbles around the plate with his five pitches, patiently waiting for the hitters to get themselves out on pitches they don't want to hit.  Some hitters who are patient in return often get ahead on Roy into 2-1 or 3-1 counts.  This is where Roy separates himself from most of his peers -- being behind in the count couldn't phase him less.  Down 3-1, he brings that cutter that moves off the plate back a few inches and pounds the inside or outside cornerto get back on top of the count.

Instead of panicking and making a mistake over the plate, Roy works the corners and the knees with ease which is what makes him so tough to hit -- there are no freebies.  Even if he walks someone, they'll have to earn it.  Case and point, Roy was down 3-1 on Jason Heyward last in the game after Jayson patiently took two straight balls just off the plate to get ahead.  Here Hayward has got to be thinking that he'll get a hittable fastball that he can demolish somewhere because there's first and second and you don't want to walk a guy and load the bases this late in the game.  What does Roy do?  Throws a hammer curveball that drops out of the zone and gets a big swing over top from Heyward.  Full count, Halladay misses off the plate and Heyward shows great patience taking the walk.  Halladay refused to give into the rookie and allow him to swing the game with a pitch over the plate.  If he takes a good pitch and walks, tip your cap and get the next guy -- which Doc did, with Utley making a diving stop and turning two to end the inning and all the momentum the Braves had built.

Roy Halladay is now 4-0 in 4 starts with a 0.82 ERA -- the same exact numbers as Cliff Lee a year ago when he joined the team.  Remember Cliff started 5-0 and threw seven innings allowing two runs (none earned) in his fifth start -- it'll be interesting to see how Halladay does in his fifth.  As a team, the starting pitching has been exceptional the past three games, if Jamie Moyer can continue that trend against Derek Lowe tonight, the offense should be waking up any minute now...