» Halladay Tosses CG Shutout as Phillies Beat Astros to Avoid Sweep

Halladay Tosses CG Shutout as Phillies Beat Astros to Avoid Sweep

The now flatter than Israeli lafa Phillies offense notched the only run of the game in the first inning as leadoff hitter centerfielder Shane Victorino slammed Houston starter Bud Norris’ 2nd pitch for a double to deep centerfield and, 2 pitches later, 3rd baseman Placido Polanco drove in Victorino with a single to centerfield while advancing to 2nd base on the relay throw attempting to nail Victorino. Then the next 3 Phils grounded out stranding Polanco on 3rd base. But the 1 run was all that ace Roy Halladay needed as he was once again masterful in tossing a clutch 114 pitch complete game where he faced only 2 rough spots, in the second and seventh innings, but came away unscathed. Meanwhile, the Phils who barely escaped Houston with a single win in the 3 game series, mustered only one threat against Norris after the first inning. In the sixth, Halladay led off with a single and the Phils loaded the sacks with 1 out. But Norris struck out 1st baseman Ryan Howard on 3 pitches, as Howard’s season strikeout total reached 163, and then he retired leftfielder Raul Ibanez on 2 pitches as Ibanez flied out to centerfield to end the inning and the threat. But, not to be denied his 18th win, Halladay tossed a complete game shutout as the Phillies beat the Astros 1-0 to avoid a series sweep.With their win in the series final against Houston, the Phillies’ NL East lead remained 11 games over the 2nd place Atlanta Braves who again beat the Florida Marlins. The Braves remained 4 1/2 game ahead of St. Louis in the NL Wild Card race. The 3rd place Mets dropped into a tie with the Washington Nationals at 25 1/2 games back after being shutout by the Nationals. The last place Marlins dropped to 29 games behind the front-runners. The Phils magic number (combination of Phils wins and Braves losses) to clinch the NL East title is now 4 games.

With the win, the Phils broke their 3 game losing string and clinched a playoff berth, but that clinch in itself is not satisfying for guys with their eyes on the World Series and the club came out saying that there would be no champagne for merely clinching a berth. When they clinch the division, which now seems a foregone conclusion, they will then probably get a taste of the bubbly.

AP’s game recap for Yahoo sports provides the game highlights:

The Phillies, who had lost three in a row, needed a win over Houston or a loss by St. Louis on Wednesday to wrap up a playoff spot. The Cardinals beat Pittsburgh 3-2.

Shane Victorino doubled in the first inning and scored the only run on Placido Polanco’s single to help Philadelphia avoid a three-game sweep.

“We went out today and played good baseball,” Victorino said. “Unfortunately, we came up short a couple of innings when we had a chance to score.”

Halladay (18-5) escaped trouble in the second and seventh, finishing with seven strikeouts and one walk for his first shutout of the season. The two-time Cy Young Award winner gave up six hits and threw 114 pitches for his eighth complete game of the year, tops in the NL. The game took just 2 hours, 6 minutes.

Houston loaded the bases in the second [third] on Polanco’s error at third, a single by Brian Bogusevic and a bunt single by Jose Altuve. The threat ended quickly when Carlos Lee was forced at home and Humberto Quintero hit into a double play.

Halladay struck out pinch-hitter Matt Downs with a runner on second in the seventh to end that threat. Downs leads the majors with 12 pinch-hit RBIs.

The Phillies spoiled a strong seven innings by Bud Norris (6-10).

Astro relievers Wilton Lopez (1 1/3 innings) and lefthander Wesley Wright (2/3 inning) shut down the Phils totally in the eighth and ninth innings, each striking out 2.

For all of Wednesday’s scores and recaps, click here.

The Phillies now return home to play a Thursday doubleheader with the Florida Marlins before opening a 4 game series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday through next Monday. In Thursday’s doubleheader, Kyle Kendrick is slated to go against Anibal Sanchez in the opener while All Star Lefthander Cliff Lee goes for his 17th win in the nightcap opposed by recently called-up Alex Sanabia, making his first-ever start against the Phils, for the Marlins.

For all of Thursday’s scheduled games throughout MLB, click here.

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