Halladay tosses second no-hitter in postseason history, Phight'ns take 1-0 series lead

Hey guys, I'm sorry this was just posted late. I thought I had clicked the publish post button last night after I watched the Yankees game, but I guess not. Anyway, it's old news, but here it is.

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History.

One day into the 2010 MLB Playoffs and we have history and a topic for the watercooler.

Roy Halladay, who had never pitched in the playoffs before yesterday after spending 12 seasons as the Toronto Blue Jays' ace, made his postseason debut yesterday with the Philadelphia Phillies.

"It's no fun out there," Reds slugger Joey Votto said. "It's like trying to hit nothing. He's an ace among aces."

All Halladay did was throw the second no-hitter in postseason history, keeping the Cincinnati Reds' scoreless to gain a 1-0 NLDS series lead, 54 years after the Yankees' Don Larsen picthed a perfect game in the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Talk about a postseason debut. When the stakes were high, Halladay did what he does best: he pitched.

Until last night, Larsen stood alone.

Better make room for some company Mr. Larsen.

"It's surreal, it really is," Halladay said after the 4-0 win. "I just wanted to pitch here, to pitch in the postseason. To go out and have a game like that, it's a dream come true."

"This is what you come here for," Halladay said. "It's a good team, they know how to win. ... It's been a great year, a fun year, we obviously have a ways to go."

Halladay, The former American League Cy Young Award winner, and the likely National League Cy Young Award winner this year, finished 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA in his first year with Philadelphia, living up the hype that surrounded him when he was traded over to the Phillies during the winter for a boatload of mega-prospects. Often regarded to as one of the best, if not the best pitcher in baseball, Halladay pitched like it last night.

However this no-hitter was not just Halladay's first no-hitter.

It was his second of the season, as he also threw a perfect game on May 29 against the Florida Marlins.

In a year that has been regarded as the "Year of the Pitcher," Halladay, along with Dallas Braden, Ubaldo Jimenez, Edwin Jackson, and Matt Garza have all thrown no-hitters. However it was Halladay, 34, who has stood out, throwing just the second no-hitter in postseason history.

We may never see this again.

Even Larsen, now 81 years young, had praise for Halladay.

"You work hard for certain things," Larsen said. "I guess if you work hard enough good things are going to happen to you and it did for me and Halladay. You have to appreciate these things because you never know what's going to happen in the future."

Friday will mark the 54th anniversary of Larsen's perfect game, still the only perfect game ever pitched in the playoffs. Halladay's was a no-hitter.

"It was just a great day. I think about it every day," Larsen said. "No one has to remind me what happened. I was just happy to be a part of it with the New York Yankees and against Brooklyn in the World Series, everybody was watching."

What/who was the key to Larsen's success?

His catcher, Yankee legend and Hall of Famer, Yogi Berra.

"I couldn't have done it without Yogi," Larsen said. "He was a hell of a catcher. He deserves a lot of credit for it."

One no-hitter and 54 years later, we're hearing the same thing.

Halladay responded in similar fashion, as he credited his catcher, Carlos Ruiz.

"I felt like we got in a groove early," Halladay said. "Carlos has been great all year, he helps me get into a rhythm early, throwing strikes."

Roy Halladay, a guy who just wanted to pitch in the playoffs for once, engraved his name on the game for years to come with just that one start that he wanted to make.

History to kick off the new decade.

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STATE OF THE PLAYOFFS:

TEXAS RANGERS LEAD TAMPA BAY RAYS IN SERIES 2-0

NEW YORK YANKEES LEAD MINNESOTA TWINS IN SERIES 2-0

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES LEAD CINCINNATI REDS IN SERIES 1-0

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS AND ATLANTA BRAVES TIED 0-0