Another loss leaves Phils, Halladay frustrated

Share

BOX SCORE

A half hour after the Phillies latest disturbing lossa 2-1 defeat at the hands of the lowly San Diego Padres on Saturday nightRoy Halladay was calm and composed as he talked about the events of the evening with reporters in a quiet clubhouse.

Halladays demeanor was much different about 90 minutes earlier when he allowed the Padres to score the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to right field in the seventh inning (see Instant Replay).

As the run came across the plate, Halladay covered his face with his glove and shouted angrily. It wasnt clear what he shouted, but it certainly wasnt, Hey, Beerman, over here! After recording the final out of the frame, Halladay started off the mound toward the dugout. Once again, he looked frustrated and angry, as if he wanted to stomp off the mound. He quickly composed himself and exited with his usual robotic gait.

Who could blame Halladay if he was ticked off?

He has gone five straight starts without a win for the first time since 2007 and in four of those starts has pitched seven innings and allowed either two or three runs. Those are winning pitching performances on a lot of nights, but for Halladay they have either been losses or no-decisions because his teammates dont get him enough runs.

Im sure when he goes out there and gives up two runs, Im sure he gets upset, yes manager Charlie Manuel said. I kind of feel for him. I would get upset. As a matter of fact, I do. We had all the chances in the world to win this game and we didnt get it done.

The Padres are the weakest hitting team in the NL. The Phillies out-weaked them in this game.

The Phils were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base as they wasted seven innings of two-run, one-walk, 10-strikeout ball from Halladay, who is 3-3 on the season. The Phils scored a run in the second thanks to an RBI double from Freddy Galvis, their rookie second baseman, then got nothing the rest of the way. Veterans Ty Wigginton and Hunter Pence had rough nights. They stranded nine and five runners, respectively, and both popped out with the bases loaded.

Im a better hitter than Im showing, said Pence, who is 2 for 19 on the homestand.

The Phillies are 1-4 on the homestand.

They are 15-19, last place in the NL East.

Yeah, its still early.

But one of these days its not going to be early any more and this team is going to wonder where its seasonand its run of five straight NL East titleswent if it doesnt put together some consistency.

Halladay gave up a double and a single to set up the Padres go-ahead run. The hits were all part of a frustrating evening and an equally frustrating past three weeks.

After the game, Halladay talked openly about his frustration. He said it had nothing to do with a lack of run support, nothing to do with personal wins and everything to do with the teams poor record.

Not the run support, Halladay said. Just not winning games. Thats frustrating for everybody. Thats really the bottom line. Thats what Im concerned about.

Halladay confirmed that he was angry after the Padres scored in the seventh and again as he exited the mound.

I wasnt happy, he said. Its an emotional game. I dont want this to sound the wrong way, but Im never going to apologize for being emotional. Sometimes it hurts, and it should. If it doesnt, you should quit playing. I was not thrilled.

Halladay was asked how he was able to separate his emotions for the lack of run support he has received in four of his last five starts.

You just keep going, he said. My job has always been to keep the game close and give us a chance. You dont have a lot of control over wins and losses. Your control is over making pitches. It can be challenging sometimes to keep that in mind and not forget that. But thats my job, to give us a chance and do it consistently. And thats what Im going to try to continue to do. You cant get caught up in personal wins and losses. As a team, yeah, its important to win.

For the first time since 1999, Halladays team has lost five of his starts in a row. It is difficult to fathom, even for a baseball lifer like Manuel.

If you had asked me that when the season started, Id have probably told you no way, Manuel said. But, there again, its hard to explain baseball sometimes. Thats what makes it such a strange and beautiful game. Its hard to figure out.

It might be a strange game, but theres nothing beautiful about the way the Phillies are playing it right now.

The angry look on Roy Halladays face in the seventh inning Saturday night confirmed that.

E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com

Contact Us