Halladay Impresses, Phils Walk-Off in Spring Opener
Posted by Paul Boye, Thu, March 04, 2010 05:16 PM | Comments: 66
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In a game dominated by pitching for eight innings, the Phillies walked off with a 3-2 victory over the Yankees at Bright House Field.
Roy Halladay made his much-anticipated debut in live action for the Phillies, and he didn’t disappoint. The big ticket acquisition struck out three in two innings that were almost perfect; one runner reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Placido Polanco. His control sharp, his pitches moving with midseason cut and sink, Halladay eased his way through a lineup composed mostly of second- and third-stringers with 21 strikes on 24 pitches.
The rest of the Phils’ rotation wasn’t so bad, either, as Kyle Kendrick, Jose Contreras and Andrew Carpenter pitched six subsequent innings of four-hit relief, walking no one and striking out six.
It was a quiet game until the ninth, when bats suddenly came alive. Leading 1-0, the Phils sent out lefty Sergio Escalona to finish the game. After Yankee megaprospect Jesus Montero singled to lead off the inning, pinch-runner Greg Golson stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. Escalona struck out the next batter he faced before Golson was singled home by David Winfree. The Yanks would tack on another run to take the lead.
Catcher Paul Hoover doubled in the home half of the ninth, scoring Quintin Berry and retying the game. Wilson Valdez would plate pinch-runner Dewayne Wise from third on an infield single that caromed off of pitcher Wilkins Arias, who couldn’t make the throw to first in time.
Next up for the Phils are the Toronto Blue Jays for two split-squad games, Friday at 1:05 p.m. Cole Hamels will start the “A” game, while Jamie Moyer will start the “B” game.
Posts: 0 Bobby D
Halladay looked impressive. Lots of weak ground balls. Kendrick looked good as well. Even though it was the minor leaguers, any walk off against the Shanks is a good game in my book. It’s just nice to watch some baseball.
Posted: 05:24 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Jeff of Nova
NIce start for Halladay, but of course expected.
Kendrick looked sharp so did Contreras and Carpenter,
Posted: 05:24 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Havoc
We can shrug off some of the stats as being against the minor leaguers but the most telling thing about this outing. No walks issued. That’s huge and means that everyone’s control is right there.
Posted: 05:45 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Pat Gallen
I know its early and bats are slow, but wow, I was impressed by all the movement on Roy’s pitches. He’s so in control its ridiculous.
Posted: 05:47 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Phillibustering
Roy Halladay and Kyle Kendrick are the greatest father and son pitching team I’ve ever seen.
Posted: 05:50 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 NJ
I was chuffed to see the Phils line Kendrick up in Halladay’s spring crew, could really help him win a spot on this team.
Posted: 06:06 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 diz
Haha. Great, I can’t wait to watch the game tonight on the MLB network.
Posted: 06:07 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Manny
Game’s about to start on MLB Network!
Posted: 07:03 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Manny
That first pitch was beautiful!
Posted: 07:03 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Enough Already!
with all the “we want the yanks” bs.. Especially Charlie. I’m ashamed as a Phils fan. Especially Charlie. He f*ucked up with his managing so bad last yr he should’ve been the Grand Marshall at the Yankees Parade.
Posted: 07:41 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Brooks
Enough, take a pill.
Carpenter was a pleasant surprise today.
Anyone know why Howard did not start? Anything going on?
Posted: 07:49 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Manny
They gave the lefties some rest… mainly because of Sabathia, a lefty, was pitching, plus they played last night.
Posted: 08:24 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Bob
Hi Im from that pitcher who got traded to Seattle universe,
could you all kindly explain to me who this Roy Halladay fellow is?
Posted: 08:49 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Andrew
watching the replay on MLb network
I had forgoten how bad Chris wheeler is and how annoying.
Posted: 08:50 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Enough Already!
Chill’n gives me gas.. So I be ill’n! I love Chuck. But his dec making during the WS was insane! Giving Pedro 2 starts vs Yanks. Game 2; 2 outs in 6th of a 1-1 game. leaves in Pedro(R) to face Matsui(L) w/ a well rested bp at his disposal. No Happ as a starter (1) in playoffs. Ditto Blanton(back in forth). You take a pill. I’m excited about 2010. But I have the right to bring up a WS the Phils, lead by(Jimmy all talk) Rollins, that occ just 4 months ago.
Posted: 09:00 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Brooks
My pill and yours differ – I see the WS loss last year due to hitting alone. If everyone (especially Howard) hit during that WS, it was ours. The Phils did not get there by pitching alone. The Phils fell flat – But this year will be a hell of a lot better.
Best RHP in the game,
Most feared offense in the game today – 1-7 should be enough pop to give every team chills.
A bench! A chance at a real live bench this year!!! That’s exciting in itself.
Who really knows, right? But it looks like the makin’ of a good season.
Posted: 09:15 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Enough Already!
true on the Howard thing. But Howard carried us to the playoffs w/ monster Septs in 08/09 etc. He put the Rockies away and he was the NLCS MVP. It’s a team game dude. It was someone elses turn to go off. Chase did, but he needed help. And got very little. Jimmy was the key. He just missed 2hrs in game 1 and then he disapp. Game 2 was the Series. Phils were too layed back. Charlie also should’ve moved up Ruiz in the order among other lineup changes. Pitching wins Rings in Oct/Nov. We could go on all nite, but I have a date with Michelle Obama’s arms.. Good nite.
Posted: 09:27 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Enough Already!
Did you see that pick by Lee on MLB network? Damn….
Posted: 09:28 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 George
Enough, already, Enough Already! You sound like a fan of some other team, and a very uninformed one in the bargain.
It’s easy to spread blame around when you think you’re superior to everyone else.
Posted: 10:57 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 Jeff of Nova
Enough Already,
You have the right to say what you want, and so do we so put it gently
Shut up!
If you are a fan of the Phillies than you would know that it is Charlie’s managing over the years that helped get us a WFC. He makes decisions on feelings a lot, nothing new.
So calm down and enjoy spring training
Posted: 11:37 PM on March 4, 2010
Posts: 0 NJ
Can you imagine what these young pitchers like Kendrink and Happ then the Savery and Naylors etc are learning from having BOTH Halladay and Moyer in the same clubhouse as well as a pitching coach who’s meant to be in the upper ranks…
Posted: 06:40 AM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Acturbo
Ah, baseball is back baby, lots of bickering, there was a game on the tele and all. Only thing we are missing is a Mets troll and baseball will officially be back.
Posted: 09:16 AM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Heather
NJ-You think Halladay has more knowledge to impart than Pedro Martinez/Cliff Lee did at the end of last year? Or he’s just a better teacher? Or something else entirely?
That sounds like I’m disagreeing with you, which I’m not, just to my uneducated observation, I am not sure why Halladay/Moyer is a clear upgrade for teaching purposes than Martinez/Lee/Moyer. Could you please enlighten me?
Posted: 09:17 AM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 bfo_33
Heather, Moyer is an expert on changing speeds, but Halladay can teach Kendrick, Happ, and Hammels a lot about throwing the two seam sinker, and he’s been consistent for a long time, phased some of the best hitters in baseball with repeated success. Lee is only 2 years away from a stint in the minors, is probably more concerned with trying to figure out how to stay consistent (not to imply he is selfish, but he is still in a learning phase, and his two best pitches are a fastball and change-up). Pedro certainly can teach the mental end, but never really threw a sinker, and at this point in his career is almost a righty version of Moyer.
Posted: 09:54 AM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Fish
Halladay and KK were outsanding. Contrares looked really good, but I have to disagree about Carpenter. People were hitting rockets against the guy. His stuff was mediocre and he left a bunch of pitches up.
I’ve made the prediction here a few times, but I’m standing by the idea that KK has a great year, and I think he even has a better year than Happ.
Posted: 10:05 AM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Don M
I watched, I guess the 3rd inning? with Kendrick on the hill… he looked really poised.. had a great little back-door breaking ball going (or was that a TWO SEAMER with down-AND-side movement?
he looked pretty good.. I know its early, but that didnt look like the Kendrick of old.. I think he has nice year this year, winning 12-15 games.. with a 4 ish ERA
holla
Posted: 10:24 AM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Jeff of Nova
I can enlighten you,
We didn’t have Pedro/Lee/Moyer all during Spring Training last season. Most of what these guys pick up and learn is by watching and going through the progression of getting ready for a season.
Posted: 11:09 AM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Jeff of Nova
Yeah I am pretty excited for KK, he really has matured and has truly worked at his craft.
He could have easily cried and complained about being demoted after winning a couple dozen games inside of 2 years at the bigs. He had a nice year with LHV last season too.
Rotation could be scary this year.
Halladay- enough said. The one thing I like about having him a top vs Lee is he is right handed and we have many lefties.
Hamels, can’t wait to see what he does
Blanton, workhorse and if he gets some run support this year he may win 15-18
Happ, looked good and looking at 14-18 wins
Kendrick,should be the fifth starter unless Moyer is stellar in my opinion.
could be 10-14
That is a crazy staff with these hitters.
Halladay
Posted: 11:48 AM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Geoff
I agree that Kendrick will make the rotation as the 5th starter over Moyer. Just a hunch, kind of. Contreras will be a quality bullpen arm.
The Doctor is just nasty. He’s been ready to go for like a month, he was the first person at the facility as soon as people started to arrive for Spring. The guy is a machine.
Hamels will be better with a cutter and improved curveball. Hell bounce back and have a good year.
Blanton is predictable and steady, but I think he will be a slight tick better than he was last year.
Happ will probably not be as good, but he is fairly sneaky and crafty. I’ll say he struggles in the early going but rebounds to have a solid year as a 4th starter.
Kendrick will be good enough to hold the 5th spot for most of the season, I feel. Its good to see him back and much improved. Glad that it looks like he will make it back to the bigs again.
I kind of hope Moyer makes it in the pen at least though, now that the Phililes arent relying on him much at all its kind of fun to watch him work with less pressure on him.
this lineup will be ridiculous this year, even better than last year.
Posted: 12:08 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 George
Halladay is a righty, Happ and Hamels are lefties, so Halladay’s hints can’t be applied as well with them. Also, Hamels doesn’t throw sinkers, and I’m not sure Happ does, either. Halladay can, however, probably aid Kendrick with the two seamer, and he can aid everyone else with his work ethic, experience, and thoughts on pitch selection. Last year, the rotation really only had Moyer as the veteran role model until mid-year.
Posted: 12:19 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Philly Texan
When Kendrick threw that backdoor cutter (?) to strike out a guy looking, that was my highlight of the day. KK looked awfully sharp.
If he pitches well, this rotation is going to be the best—top to bottom—I can ever remember the Phils having.
Posted: 12:21 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Don M
that looked like the Maddux-made-famous Two Seamer… started in on the Lefty, and tailed right back to hit the inside corner
Myers used to get a lot of K’s on that pitch too…
The first two batters though, Kendrick was throwing a pitch on the Right-side of the plate . . that had more downward break.. not a slider, not exactly a curveball .. it wasn’t the sinker . . .
and to be honest, im not quite sure what a Cutter does . . . everyone that throws it, has a differnt movement with it.. so maybe that pitch was a cutter.. but it had “break” to it .. instead of just “movement” ?
Posted: 12:29 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 bfo_33
Happ throws a two seamer (not a lot, but increased throughout the year last year), heard rumors that if Hamels can’t make the curve work, he was going to try a sinker. It’s more in the grip than the arm movement (same as a 4 seam fastball), lefty or righty shouldn’t matter (Halladay can show him the grip in a mirror).
In regards to Hamels, I expect him to have a “poor” spring. His change-up is already about as good as it gets, and while he’ll throw fastballs for arm strength, he’s probably going to be doing a lot of experimentation (heard he was looking at a curve, cutter, slider, and sinker). If none work, he’ll still be a solid#2, but if he can fine tune another pitch, he could be devastating.
Posted: 12:30 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 George
I see Halladay as being great all year.
I look for Hamels to be a little off until May, because he will still be learning when and how to use the cutter and improving curveball. He won’t be a lot off, but he will give up some big hits, and we’ll need to be patient with him and not demand his head. He’ll get things going soon enough.
Blanton probably won’t have the troubles he had early in 2009, and if he doesn’t, he’ll be really big.
No telling about Happ, though I don’t think the “sophomore jinx” will get him too much.
No telling about the fifth starter, although so far, things look promising.
This is a far better staff than last year’s to start the season with than last year’s: Hamels, Myers, Blanton, Moyer, and Park. I don’t expect this year’s rotation to end up with 60% of it being replaced.
Posted: 12:39 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 bfo_33
More fuel for the fire in regards to draft picks vs prospects:
http://crashburnalley.com/2010/03/04/finding-an-utley-in-a-haystack/
Amzing how little success in one year. Ed Wade, super genius?!?!?!?!
Posted: 12:49 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 The Original Chuck P
Good afternoon to all of my Phillies Phaithful! It is a GREAT day, isn’t it?
Halladay looked tremendous… funny thing, I heard 610 WIP this morning and they were copying a discussion from a thread that we had going earlier in the week (if you had to describe Halladay in one word)… posers. I used the word “superlative” as in, the word that defines all words that are used to describe something that is of the highest quality. Yesterday, he showed why he’s on a whole different level than any other pitcher in baseball…
KK was solid… very encouraging… one thing I did not like is the interview; he seemed almost agitated and unwilling to admit that the demotion was the best thing for him. I think that it still bothers him… hopefully, he can keep his eye on the prize (and not the rear view mirror).
Polly… I said this before and this is NOT an “I told you so.” I think that Placido will have a tremendous season and he will be fine defensively but it’s going to take some time for him to adjust at third. In the mean time, I think that we all need to temper our expectations; we cannot overreact the first time we lose a game because of his defensive indifference… no burning pitchforks.
HALLADAY
Posted: 01:19 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Chuck
yeah……how can you not feel good about the rotation to start the season…..whether it’s Moyer or KK to get the 5th spot. Kendrick will definitely benefit from being around the Doc as well as Moyer. I love it1
Posted: 01:24 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Chuck
I caught Halladay’s interview on CSN after he pitched. Man, the guy is a professional in every sense. I think EVERYONE is gonna benefit from having him around.
Posted: 01:31 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 The Original Chuck P
I didn’t realize Jamie was ready to go; that’s good news. I kind of thought that he wouldn’t be pitching until later in spring training.
I wonder if these games are going to be broadcast anywhere…
Posted: 01:33 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 The Original Chuck P
Insert Halladay
Posted: 01:40 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Chuck
Let that competition for the 5th spot begin. And I think CSN has at least one game this weekend to answer your question.
Posted: 01:45 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 The Original Chuck P
3 scoreless for Moyer today…
Hamels gave up a HR to lead off the game but settled in…
Toronto has a decent squad out there today; Hill, Lind, Wells, Overbay. The Phillies have got Rollins, Polanco, Utley, Howard and Werth going, too.
Posted: 02:25 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 The Original Chuck P
Plus Ibanez, Brown, Gload and Schneider…
Posted: 02:26 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 shag beta sigma delta
i know I am a day late, but missing in all the pitching talk, I thought Mayberry hit the ball well, he hit it hard every time, with one hit, and made a nice catch in the outfield, I know a lot of people on here would rather see him play every day in AAA, but I hope he makes it up to the big club sometime this year
Posted: 02:57 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 NJ
Has anyone discussed the fact Drabek got owned in his appearance yesterday… Wish the kid well and hope he does fore fill his potential but that was amusing after all the talk.
Posted: 03:16 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Jeff of Nova
Wow Vogelsong got shilacked! right after Ramirez did.
with the competition tight for bullpen spots I would go ahead and cross them off.
What I liked to see about Hamels is that he rebounded from the HR. His MO last year was that he would fall apart
Posted: 03:32 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Jeff of Nova
Howard going 0-3 with 2 strikeouts, is not what I like to see. Still not patient or not working hitting or laying off the breaking stuff, If I was a major league pitcher I would NEVER throw him a fastball, ever
Posted: 03:35 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 The Original Chuck P
Why would anyone talk about that, NJ?
Posted: 03:40 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 Manny
Yo Gillies got a HR! Wohooo
As for Howard, going 0-3, 2 Ks, 5LOB… it’s bad but don’t worry about it… last year he was AMAZING during spring training (I think he hit 10 or more HRS) and then went semi-cold when the season started, only hitting 4 in April.
Posted: 04:00 PM on March 5, 2010
Posts: 0 NJ
Just figured with all the Halladay/Lee/Drabek/Aumont/Amaro/George Bush/The easter bunny talk figured someone would mention it…
Gillies its getting me excited, the kids only 20 and I know his numbers were in a hitters friendly league but for a light hitting outfielder to have an OPS over .860… He’s not Taylor sure but boy this kids on the rise
Posted: 04:04 PM on March 5, 2010