Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Posted: 10 p.m.Updated: 11:47 p.m.
By Jim Salisbury
CSNPhilly.com
BOX SCORE
WASHINGTONEvery time Roy Halladay pitches in Nationals Park, something dramatic and memorable seems to happen.
He won his Phillies debut in the ballpark on opening day 2010.
And in September he returned to pitch a two-hit shutout as the Phillies wrapped up their fourth straight National League East title.
Halladays work Wednesday night was just as memorable. He nearly pitched away a three-run lead in the ninth inning before righting himself and striking out the final two batters of the game with two men on base as he and the Phillies earned a tight 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals.
Halladay carried a two-hit shutout into the ninth inning but allowed four hits and two runs before striking out Matt Stairs and Ivan Rodriguez on six pitches to end the game.
MLB
Moments earlier, with his pitch count rising and the Nationals gaining momentum, Halladay was visited at the mound by manager Charlie Manuel.
I got em, Halladay told his manager. I got em.
Satisfied with the answer, Manuel walked back to the dugout.
I wanted to get a feel for where he was and how he felt, Manuel said. He was very intense and determined to keep going. It was his game.
Halladay did not disappoint. He has beaten the Nats four times in as many starts since joining the Phillies and has allowed just three runs in those gamestwo of them in Wednesday nights nervous ninth. The right-hander went 30 innings between allowing a run to the Nats.
Halladay, who finished with 123 pitches, was happy his manager stayed with him in the ninth. Jose Contreras began warming in the bullpen as the Nats rallied, and he was one hit away from being in the game when Halladay put a stop to things.
I felt like I was still able to make good pitches, he said. There are times when Charlies adamant and I understand, but tonight he wasnt.
When you cause the trouble, you want to be the one to clean it up. You hate to bring someone else in and put them in that spot.
I may be nave, but I never felt in trouble. There was never a panic or a rush feeling. I didnt feel like things were speeding up on me. I felt like it was just a matter of making good pitches.
Halladay made three good pitches on Stairs, who looked at all of them. Halladay then got ahead of Rodriguez with two fastballs before dropping a breaking ball over the outside corner to end it. At least umpire Alan Porter thought it was over the corner. If the pitch was wideand it looked to have beenthe Phillies were happy to take it. Manuel thought Halladay got squeezed a couple of times early in the game.
Rodriguez, by the way, had been a tough out for Halladay over the years. The Washington catcher entered the game 14 for 35 lifetime against Halladay and went 0 for 4.
Any time Halladays pitch count rises into the 120s, the Phillies get a little nervous. The guy is a horse, but he turns 34 next month and has logged many miles. Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee have the task of making sure Halladay helps lead the Phillies to the playoffs, then has something left when the Phils get there. Halladay was at 101 pitches after the eighth.
If he gets to 130 pitchesI dont like that, Manuel said. We had him geared for 120. He threw 123. He can handle that.
He beared down at the end. He reached back and got something. Good pitchers do that. When you can reach down and get it that means youre in good condition, youre in good shape.
The Phillies hitters had a difficult time solving one of their favorite punching bags, Washington lefty John Lannan. He entered the game 0-8 with a 6.09 ERA in 11 career starts against the Phils. He was able to hold them to three runs, two earned, over six innings.
Lannan is the guy who memorably broke Chase Utleys hand with a pitch in July 2007. He hit Ryan Howard on the right wrist with a pitch with the bases loaded in Wednesday nights game. Howards plunking resulted in an important run, but the Phillies slugger was hit hard enough to require an X-ray after the game. The X-ray was negative.
Howard said the wrist was stiff, swollen and sore, but he expected to play Thursday night. Nothing is certain, however, and team medical officials will have to evaluate him first.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.comRelated: Phils notes: Updates on Brown and UtleyNew uniform, but plenty still the same for Werth