Philadelphia Phillies face 4-6 defeat against Minnesota Twins in Spring Training - MLB Update
Far from what he is known for, Roy Halladay leaked five earned runs in just over two innings he pitched as the Philadelphia Phillies experience a 4-6 defeat against Minnesota Twins at Bright House Networks in Clearwater, Florida on March 14, 2012 during
their Spring Training Grapefruit League clash.
"I hate innings like that, but they help build stamina. They humble you and they push you to work," Halladay said. "It's still the consistency issues for me. The bullpen session between last start and this start was good and I addressed a lot of things."
Halladay gave up one run in the first to allow the Twins to lead before the Phillies replied strongly in the second with two runs. After pitching a scoreless second inning, Halladay came back again in the third thinking to decimate batters with his vast
artillery of pitching varieties that mainly include two seam and four seam 90 mph fastballs. He was unaware of how ferociously he is going to be taken on. Thus, the Twins reached a three run lead in the third before adding only one run in the eighth to register
a victory.
While he has an amazing record of 2.40 ERA with Phillies, his three Spring Training outings in which he posted a dismal 10.56 ERA are nothing short of a nightmare for him.
If Phillies' starter fared a poor show, almost the same happened with Twins’ starter Jason Marquis who in his four innings on the mound was hit eight times while conceding four earned runs and giving two walks. Despite his ordinary performance, he is not
disappointed in any way.
"A lot of positives," he said. "I felt like I executed my pitches the way I wanted to. Obviously, by the amount of ground balls, obviously that shows that. The change-up felt real good.”
Among Phillies' batters, Carlos Ruiz and Placido Polanco tried to up the ante by managing few hits and RBIs. Ruiz connected both at-bats he faced, scored one run and added one RBI. As for Polanco, out of four at bats, two were hits and one triggered an RBI.
Hammering of their top ace of the season, Halladay, in the game is not a good sign for Phillies as he, along with Cole Hamels and few others is one of those players club is going to count on heavily in the season. Right now what he will be looking to maintain
a positive attitude toward his abilities and the moment he gets his confidence back, he will be back to his best.
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