Roy Halladay pitches Philadelphia Phillies to 1-0 win over Houston Astros – MLB Update
Roy Halladay pitched a complete game to allow Philadelphia Phillies to beat the Houston Astros 1-0 on Wednesday, September 14 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas and officially become the first team to ensure a postseason berth.
Phillies were backing Halladay to guide them through to the playoffs after having failed twice in the first two-games of the series. They required just one win to guarantee themselves a trip to the playoffs but the Astros did well to deny them a win until
Halladay took on the responsibility in the third game, winning his 18th start in the process.
Halladay employed his entire arsenal in a spell that saw him throw 114 pitches and generate 86 strikes to improve his earned-run average to 2.34 for the season. He struck-out seven batters in this stretch to completely wipe-out the Astros and record his
20th career shutout amid just six hits.
Astros did well to hold the Phillies right through the game but a Shane Victorino run in the first inning gave the visitors an advantage that proved to be inevitable in the end. Placido Polanco drove in a single to centre-field for Victorino to complete
his run but the Astros leaked no other chance to the Phillies thereafter.
Although Philadelphia is renowned for their pitching, a batting failure similar to the one in this game will deprive them a chance of winning the World Series, an aim they have set for this year. This was evident from their body language after the game as
well when not even a single player sported a smile on their team’s progression to the postseason.
Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel stated that the team has an objective to win the World Series this season and a result anything short of that would not convince anyone. He further added that the team has had an outstanding season and scrapping a good start
will be useless, especially when it matters the most.
"It's a great mentality to have," Halladay said. "There's business to be done and until that point, there's not a lot of celebration."
Phillies did well to avoid a three-game series sweep against the lowly-ranked Astros. It will now be vital for them to gain a winning momentum for the Divisional series.
Tags: