Chooch gets four hits, Halladay cruises to 6-1 win
Just another day at the office for Roy Halladay. It seems that just pitching incredibly these days might not excite the good doctor anymore. He decided to take his show on the road to the batter’s box. In addition to throwing seven innings, allowing only five hits and one run he also plated two runs with an infield single in the fourth inning. And if that wasn’t enough he struck out nine Fish in route to a 6-1 victory.
Halladay now has 158 K’s on the season which is best in the National League and only second to Jered Weaver (162) of the Angels for the Major League lead. While on the subject of stats, Halladay now leads the majors in innings pitched (178), complete games (8) and shutouts (3). He is second in ERA (2.17) and tied for third in wins (13).
Ok, back to the game. Carlos Ruiz led the offensive charge with four hits in his five at bats. He also played a major role in the back-to-back segment of the game when he and Ben Francisco hit consecutive home runs, on consecutive pitches, in the second inning. Francisco added three of his own hits as well. Ruiz is now hitting .294 for the season.
Despite putting Ryan Howard on the DL today the Phillies pounded out 13 hits and have now won 10 of their last 12 games. Cody Ransom and Ross Gload will see time at first while Howard is out. John Mayberry Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his roster spot.
Chad Durbin recorded the final six outs of the game. He allowed three hits and struck out four. His ERA is now at 3.43.
Just after the Phillies game ended, Braves’ closer Billy Wagner gave up a home run to Jeff Francoeur which was the decisive run in a 3-2 win for the Mets. The Phillies are now only two games back in the NL East.
Worth noting: Charlie Manuel had Jayson Werth hitting in the cleanup spot tonight. Werth went 0 for 5 with four strikeouts. He is now 0 for his last 20 against the Marlins. With a righty, Anibal Sanchez, slated to throw tomorrow for the Marlins we should see Domonic Brown back in the lineup. Maybe ole Cholly feels frisky and bats the kid fourth.
