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

Halladay gets hammered, Yanks win 8-3. Mets beat Tribe 7-6.

(41-23) Yankees - 8, Phillies - 3 (32-20)
W - CC Sabathia (7-3)
L - Roy Halladay (8-5)
HR: (NYY) Curtis Granderson (5), Nick Swisher (11), Mark Teixeira (10)

The Yankees did what they needed to do. They got to Roy Halladay early, and didn't look back. Halladay came into tonight's game 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA lifetime vs the Yankees, along with bringing in a 8-4 record with a 1.96 ERA on the season. The way he pitched tonight however, didn't make it seem like that was the same pitcher. In the second inning, with Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada on base, Brett Gardner hit a triple to break open a 2-0 Yankee lead. To lead off the bottom of the third, Curtis Granderson sent a pitch sailing into the second deck in right field for a towering home run to give the Yanks an early 3-0 lead. After Mark Teixeira flied out, Robinson Cano reached on a double. The next batter, Nick Swisher, would send out his own bomb, clocking a pitch into the bleachers in right field, staking the Yanks out to a 5-0 lead over Halladay. In the top of the fourth inning it looked like the Phillies were making a comeback. They scored 3 runs off of Sabathia, but those would be the last runs they would score. In the bottom of the fifth, Mark Teixeira would look to regain some runs as he sent a homer just around the foul pole in right field to increase the Yankees lead to 6-3. The Yankees would score again in the bottom of the seventh, when Francisco Cervelli singled home Mark Teixiera and Jorge Posada to make it 8-3. The Yankees would not look back as David Robertson and Chan Ho Park shut down the Phillies for the eighth and ninth to give the Yankees an 8-3 win.

Sabathia pitched 7 innings, giving up 3 runs and 5 hits, but also getting 7 K's while his counterpart Roy Halladay only lasted 6 innings, while giving up 8 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs, and only getting 5 K's. Many thought that Halladay's success against the Yankees would contribute to a win.

The Phillies only scored 3 runs in tonight's game, they have scored 3 runs or less in their last 21 games. The Phillies continue to slide, now only 2 games over .500 and in the 3rd place. The Yankees moved to 18 games over .500, still tied for 1st and with a Tampa loss tonight, can take over sole position of 1st place. Alex Rodriguez was not in the lineup tonight due to hip tendinitis and is scheduled to play tomorrow.


(36-28) Mets - 7, Indians - 6 (25-28)
W - Johan Santana (5-3)
L - Justin Masterson (2-6)
HR: (NYM) Ike Davis (8)
(CLE) Travis Hafner (8), Shelley Duncan (2)

While I didn't follow this game as closely as I did the Yankee game (c'mon it was Sabathia vs Halladay!) I understand Johan Santana's struggles continued against the tribe. Dating back to 2007 with the Twins, Santana was 0-5 against Cleveland. Through 7 innings today, he gave up 4 runs, 1 HR, 7 hits and only got 1, make that ONE, strikeout. That's very un-Santana like. As for Justin Masterson, he went 7 innings, giving up 7 runs (6 earned) on 10 hits and 1 home run while getting only 2 strike outs. So not a great performance out of either side. In the 9th, Francisco Rodriguez continued to be shaky, giving up a home run to Shelley Duncan to cut the lead to 7-6. Nonetheless, the Mets would hang on for the win. Barring an Atlanta loss, the Mets will be .5 games out of first place. Who woulda thunk it?

7 of the Mets' 12 hits tonight were infield hits.

So a win for both New York teams as they both push towards 1st place. That'll be all for tonight.

You again! Yankees vs Phillies World Series Rematch

Are you ready for the intensity of the Yankees vs Phillies?

Only this time it's not for a world championship, but just for regulation.

Yes, it was only eight months ago that the Yankees defeated the Phillies in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series. Today however, the Yankees play the Phillies for the first time since that World Series game (unless you count Spring Training) and look forward to another victory.

The teams are different. No more are the components that propelled last year's World Champions in World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon. Likewise for the Phightin's. Cliff Lee, perhaps the Phillies post season MVP, has since been traded. But while old faces have since departed, new faces have entered with the same determination in the likes of Curtis Granderson, Javier Vazquez, and most notably, Roy Halladay. Nonetheless, the goal is still the same: Win.

The Phillies, losers of the World Series last year, look for redemption tonight against the Yankees as they send ace Roy Halladay to the mound. Halladay, who was nearly a Yankee but was acquired in the 3-team trade that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle, is without a doubt the best pitcher in baseball, along with being a notorious "Yankee killer." In his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, Halladay is 18-6 with a 2.84 ERA against the Yankees. The Phillies look for Halladay to shut down the Yankees offense in tonight's game.

The Yankees will respond with one of their own: ace left-hander and ALCS MVP, CC Sabathia. Sabathia, who is 6-3 with a 4.01 ERA this season has struggled recently, is arguably one of the game's best pitchers with Halladay. The Yankees will look for CC to keep them in the game, even though it will be difficult to score runs off of Halladay.

Could you truly ask for a better pitching match-up then this? Sabathia vs Halladay has to be the best match-up of the year. This will be a very interesting game tonight. The Yankees are hot right now. They swept the Astros, scored what feels like dozens of runs, and strolled into first place. You can only imagine the momentum carrying the Yankees tonight. The Phillies on the other hand are not hot right now. They've been offensively challenged of late and find themselves in 3rd place in the NL East behind the Mets and Braves. I really can't wait to watch this game!

First pitch 7:05! Yankees vs Phillies World Series Rematch! Sabathia vs Halladay! Who will be the victor? Stay tuned!

Quick updates (UPDATE: Lakers win, advance to finals!, Hawks take Game 1 of Stanley Cup Finals)

Hey guys, don't have much time. Sorry for the lack of posts today and possibly tomorrow, I was in the city today and I'll be back there tomorrow for the Yankees game.

Yankees fall to Indians 13-11
Embarrassing, Joba needs to go.

Mets losing to Brewers 8-6 in the 8th inning

Roy Halladay threw the 2nd perfect game this year, beating the Marlins 1-0.
Seriously, who else would you expect?

The Lakers currently lead the Suns 73-61 in the beginning of the 3rd quarter.
The Lakers are looking to clinch to face the Celtics in the finals for the 2nd time in 3 years.
UPDATE: Lakers win 111-103 :D yay!

Hawks beat the Flyers 6-5 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Again, sorry for the lacking of these posts! Everything should be back to normal come Monday!