Halladay tosses complete game, Phils complete sweep with 2-1 win over winless Houston
By Chris Duncan, APSunday, April 11, 2010
Halladay throws complete game, Phils beat Astros
HOUSTON — Roy Halladay struck out eight in his first NL complete game, and the Philadelphia Phillies completed a sweep of the winless Houston Astros with a 2-1 victory Sunday.
Halladay (2-0) scattered seven hits and retired the last nine Astros in order. Acquired from Toronto in an offseason trade, the former AL Cy Young winner pitched his 50th career complete game and outdueled Roy Oswalt (0-2).
Houston dropped to 0-6. The two-time NL champion Phillies improved to 5-1.
Oswalt also struck out eight and allowed five hits in six innings, but lost for the first time in his last seven decisions against Philadelphia.
Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a home run. Philadelphia mustered only six hits, its first game under 10 hits this season.
Halladay threw 111 pitches, including 83 for strikes, and earned his 150th career victory. He has 137 wins since 2001, tying Oswalt and the Yankees’ CC Sabathia for the most in the majors.
Rollins drove Oswalt’s second pitch into the right-field seats, his 34th career leadoff homer and first of the season.
Raul Ibanez led off the second inning with a double to right center. He advanced on Shane Victorino’s single and scored on Carlos Ruiz’s groundout to make it 2-0.
Oswalt shut down the high-powered Phillies’ offense after that, allowing only three runners and striking out five over the next four innings. The Phillies came in leading the majors in runs (41), hits (63), extra-base hits (24) and batting average (.337).
But the Astros couldn’t make up ground against Halladay, who retired seven in a row — three on strikeouts — after Michael Bourn’s two-out single in the third.
Oswalt was done after throwing 114 pitches in six innings. Pinch-hitter Chris Johnson led off the Houston half with a single and Bourn beat out a bunt, the first time the Astros had gotten a runner to second.
The Astros loaded the bases after Halladay fielded Jeff Keppinger’s bunt and threw errantly to Polanco covering third. Halladay was charged with an error.
Johnson scored when Cory Sullivan rolled into a double play, cutting the Phillies’ lead to 2-1.
The Astros had runners at second and third with one out in the seventh, but J.R. Towles hit a weak grounder back to the mound and pinch hitter Jason Michaels struck out swinging.
Halladay breezed through the eighth inning on only 10 pitches, striking out Bourn and Keppinger and retiring Sullivan on a groundout.
Carlos Lee just missed hitting a tying homer in the ninth, hammering Halladay’s first pitch into the left-field seats — a few feet outside the foul pole. He flew out to center on the next pitch.
Blum grounded out and former Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz popped out to end it.
NOTES: The Phillies earned their first sweep at Minute Maid Park since September 2006. … Astros All-Star first baseman Lance Berkman is concerned that his left knee is taking longer to heal than the 2-4 weeks initially expected. Berkman will stay in Houston to continue physical therapy while the team visits St. Louis and Chicago. “I just need to concentrate on trying to get better as quickly as I can,” he said. “Time is a great healer. I can’t do anything about it until it’s ready.” … The Phillies said RHP Brad Lidge (elbow surgery) will make his second rehab appearance for Single-A Clearwater on Monday. Lidge allowed four runs on three hits and retired only two batters in his first rehab appearance on Saturday.
