Phillies Nation Perfect Season: The night Doc was perfect

May 29, 2010 – Phillies 1, Marlins 0

On May 29, 2010, new Phillies ace Roy Halladay took the mound at Sun Life Stadium on a muggy Saturday night. He came off his worst start in a Phillies uniform, giving up six earned runs in a loss against the Red Sox.

“I’m better than that,” Halladay told Charlie Manuel in the dugout during the loss.

In hindsight, the conditions were perfect. In addition to feeling he needed to perform better, Halladay had an extra day’s rest, an umpire who gave him the outside corner and a weak lineup in the Florida Marlins.

He moved through the Florida lineup with relative ease. The most trouble he had came in the first. Chris Coghlan worked a 3-2 count against Halladay and almost earned himself a free pass. Instead, he was called out on a fastball that hugged the outside corner. Halladay threw 19 pitches in the first.

With the hope of getting to Halladay quickly winding down in the ninth, the Marlins sent three pinch-hitters to the plate. Little did they know that Halladay was as meticulous in his preparation for his start as he was. He was known to study every hitter extensively to where he knew what they were thinking. Nothing was getting in the way of Halladay and the 20th perfect game in MLB history:

“I don’t know what to say,” Halladay told Gary Matthews. “We felt like we got in a groove early and in about the fifth or sixth, I was just following Chooch. I can’t say enough about the job he did today.”

When he arrived in the clubhouse, a few of his teammates loudly requested a speech. Doc’s response?

“Chooch is the man.”

Phillies Lineup

1. Shane Victorino, center field
2. Wilson Valdez, shortstop
3. Chase Utley, second base
4. Ryan Howard, first base
5. Jayson Werth, right field
6. Raúl Ibañez, left field
7. Juan Castro, third base
8. Carlos Ruiz, catcher
9. Roy Halladay, pitcher

Phillies Notes: Halladay’s perfect game marked the first Phillies’ no-hitter since 2003 when Kevin Millwood no-hit the San Francisco Giants at Veterans Stadium. It was also the second perfect game in the franchise’s history. The first came in 1964. Jim Bunning retired all 27 batters in a 6-0 win against the Mets at Shea Stadium on Father’s Day.

Halladay’s line: 9 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 11 K

Marlins Lineup

1. Chris Coghlan, left field
2. Gaby Sánchez, first base
3. Hanley Ramírez, shortstop
4. Jorge Cantú, third base
5. Dan Uggla, second base
6. Cody Ross, right field
7. Brett Hayes, catcher
8. Cameron Maybin, center field
9. Josh Johnson, pitcher

You can watch the perfect game down or below or by using this link. You can also watch it on your Smart TV or streaming device with the YouTube app. Just put in “5/29/2010: Roy Halladay is perfect in Miami” into the search bar and click on the video.

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