Halladay back to the mound in finale against Marlins

After two rough outings, the less-dominant Roy Halladay takes the mound on Sunday afternoon against the Miami Marlins.

Roy Halladay has lost his first two decisions of a season three times during his illustrious career. The good news is he has never lost three games in a row to open a season.

Of course, Halladay has never gone through what he has endured this season, either. At a crossroads in his pitching career, Halladay has attempted to compensate throughout the spring and in his first two outings this season. The results haven't been pretty. In his two outings, Halladay is 0-2 with a 14.73 ERA. In 7 1/3 innings, Halladay has allowed 12 runs on 12 hits with six walks and 12 strikeouts. He also has surrendered three homers.

Needless to say, all eyes will be on Halladay again as the Phillies (5-6) try to take the series from the 2-9 Marlins. Kevin Slowey (0-2, 2.19) puts his 10-game losing streak on the line against Halladay and the Phillies.

Phillies
1.) Ben Revere, CF
2.) Freddy Galvis, SS
3.) Chase Utley, 2B
4.) Ryan Howard, 1B
5.) Michael Young 3B
6.) Dom Brown, LF
7.) John Mayberry, RF
8.) Humberto Quintero, C
9.) Roy Halladay, P

Once again, Quintero gets the call to catch Halladay. Meanwhile, Jimmy Rollins is getting his first day off of the season with Freddy Galvis filling in at shortstop. Galvis got his first start of the season on Saturday night at third base.

Comments

[Fatalotti]

Didn't look like Jimmy was going to get a chance to contribute to this suckfest, but lo and behold...

[SLO Phan]

I refuse to watch this anymore. This is so sad.

[Iceman]

It doesn't get much worse than this.

[bay_area_phan]

Ok, with that, I'm out of here.

[GBrettfan]

The one thing the Phils do extremely well is play down to their opponent. I look forward to it happening again in the Pittsburgh series.

Posted by: SLO Phan

You are so right. I don't know why this should surprise us. How many games did we lose to the Astros in recent years?

[clout]

Is it just me or does JRoll pop up a lot?

[MG]

This is much worse than yesterday. At least yesterday Fernandez pitched well.

[GTown_Dave]

clout: You know what they say: never settle for solid contact & an RBI single when you can pop out trying to hit a 3-run home run.

[Five-4-One]

What you are seeing is a team that is far more Marlin than Brave or National.

Thinking of the Phils even contending for the 2nd WC is hard to imagine right now. RAJ and the FO needs to think about the long term as this season goes on.

[Sil Campusano]

Doc still below 90 pitches. Nice outing wasted.

[GTown_Dave]

Matt Gelb: Chad Qualls completed a scoreless outing of more than two innings for the first time in six years. http://bit.ly/YGg6jW

And to think, all it took was facing the Phillies.

[GBrettfan]

Great play, boys!

[Fatalotti]

If I never see another WB Mason commercial in my life, it'll be too soon.

[bullit]

jroll is vying for the phillies pop up trophy currently shared by willie jones and granny hamner.

[Iceman]

When Ruiz comes back, it will be just as much of a tangible boost to this team as when Utley and Howard came back replacing Galvis/Wigginton.

I can't believe I was duped into thinking Kratz would be a fine replacement for 25 games.

[Fatalotti]

Atta boy, Nix!

[Iceman]

Yeah Nix!!! You stud!

[MG]

Fix it Nix!

[GBrettfan]

Thank you, Laynce Nix!

[chondromalacia]

holy sh*t nix

[Sil Campusano]

Wyay tyo gyo Laynce!

[SLO Phan]

So it is possible to hit a HR in this ballpark.

[Fightins']

Nix!!! Someone finally

[GTown_Dave]

I must admit, I did not expect that.

[clout]

Maybe Nix earned a start there.

[bullit]

regardless of outcome i'm sure this is a victory for doc's psyche.

[timr]

Another nail-biting pitcher's duel with the worst team in baseball. At least Nix is becoming a decent pinch hitter.

[Iceman]

You just saw why Mayberry shouldn't be in the lineup against some mediocre RHP like Slowey. Every now and then, Nix will get into one, and he's been swinging well lately.

[Fatalotti]

"6 pinch hits for the Phillies off the bench this year."

As opposed to another kind of pinch hit?

[GTown_Dave]

Cross your fingers, Phillies fans: your ball club is just 3 Outs away from taking a series from the Marlins!

[clout]

Iceman: right on the money.

[GBrettfan]

Crap.

[GTown_Dave]

So who gets called up to replace Galvis?

[Sil Campusano]

Well f#ck.

[Iceman]

Mini-Mart, come on down!

[GBrettfan]

That buzzed his helmet, too. He narrowly missed a concussion.

[bay_area_phan]

Suddenly Mini-Mart sees his opening.

[timr]

Here comes Mini-Mart!

[SLO Phan]

Mini-Mart just wired the money into Rauch's bank account.

[Fightins']

Mini Mart sighting

[CS]

Done, broken. Well I hope not.

[GBrettfan]

GTown, I will cross my fingers. It's inevitably going to happen a few times, so I always hold my breath that a closer won't blow the save.

[Sil Campusano]

Really bad day for Utley at the plate.

[MG]

This is where Papelbon earns his paycheck.

[Fan from Fifty]

Who plays short in the 9th? Can we trust Galvis with a swelling hand? And why don't they stuff some ice in his hitting glove?

[CS]

If you put someone on the 15 day DL they still hold there spot in the 40'man right? Cesar is the only other IF on the 40 man roster.

[Iceman]

The Braves are about to sweep the Nats in resounding fashion, beating their two best pitchers with Hudson/Maholm opposing them. They had a +30 run differential heading into this game, and it will only get bigger after today. And they're doing it without Freeman or McCann.

I'll believe Atlanta is a better team than Washington until proven otherwise. Power up and down the lineup to rival the best Phillies lineups of the late '00s, with a deep rotation and bullpen to boot. And they've got depth. Other than that, they're totally overrated.

[Iceman]

Meanwhile, if Papelbon blows the lead here, my hatred for him will go way beyond what I've thought possible.

[clout]

You just can't do that.

[Iceman]

Oh my God. You're a fastball pitcher and step on the mound and walk a singles hitter on four pitches.

Jesus Christ.

[GBrettfan]

Does this feel like a blown save to anyone? My nerves are on edge.

[GBrettfan]

*Exhale*

[clout]

Playing the no-doubles defense against the Marlins is stupid.

[Iceman]

Why in the world is Revere playing towards the warning track with Dobbs at the plate?

I assume that's a coaching decision, and a stupid one at that.

[bay_area_phan]

Revere's defense has definitely been as advertised.

[bullit]

he caught that on the heel and managed to contain it.

[GTown_Dave]

I hate the no doubles defense. Almost cost the Phillies there.

[GBrettfan]

As J-Roll once said to Flash: "Babe Ruth is dead. Throw strikes."

Come on, Paps!

[MG]

Fastball velocity is up a tick (at 93) but his location with it is total crap.

Definitely likely linked.

[GBrettfan]

*Another exhale*

Cliff looked like he wanted to come in to finish the game.

[GBrettfan]

It's like he's flirting with disaster. I can't take it. Just get Doc his 200th W already!

[bullit]

how many of you guys who said you were turning the game off actually did? lol

[GTown_Dave]

Watching Papelbon pitch is torture. You'll either die from boredom, or disgust.

[clout]

Great win for Doc.

[Sil Campusano]

Way too difficult to take 2 of 3 from these bums.

[GBrettfan]

Yes! Thank you, Papelbon!

DOC! A WIN! YOUR 200th!!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!

[MG]

Won 2 of 3 by about as slim as a margin as you can.

A win is a win though and Phils took care of business this week at 4-2 vs Mets/Fish. Exactly what they needed to do.

I just hope Galvis doesn't have a fracture.

[bay_area_phan]

Hooray! We are slightly better than the Marlins.

[GTown_Dave]

Congratulations to Roy Halladay on the 200th Win of his MLB career! He certainly had to earn it, & did.

[Iceman]

As annoying as today was, 2 of 3 and 4 of 6 in these two series = mission accomplished.

Have a real test in the next two series against playoff contenders. Some tough pitching matchups.

[Fightins']

Ugly ugly weekend but congrats Doc. And despite the struggle, a 4-2 week is what they needed. Keep on doing it

[MG]

It was nice to see the Phils play solid defense today. Revere and Utley both had a couple of nice plays.

On a day where they didn't have much margin for error (due to their Groundhog Day like performance with RISP), they couldn't afford to give the Fish an unearned run or two.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Random. Are there 20+ hall of famers active today? There may be and I can put together a list of the potential 20.

I went through a duffel bag full of Topps cards from 1979 last night and came up with 27 guys I think are HOFers or know are. Including Rose.

Pretty good list.
Bench
Blyleven
Brock
Carlton
G. Carter
Dawson
Fisk
Gossage
J. Hunter
R. Jackson
Jenkins
McCovey
Molitor
J. Morgan
Murray
P. Niekro
Palmer
Rice
Rose
Ryan
Schmidt
Seaver
Oz. Smith
Stargell
Trammell
Yasztremski
Yount

Is Craig Nettles in? I wouldn't put him in but, could have. Would be 28.

[MG]

This Fish team was arguably the worst team the Phils have played in a long, long time.

Hard to see them not losing 100 games before Sept and chasing the '03 Tigers and '62 Mets as the worst teams in modern MLB history.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

I agree MG. The only thing missing from teh '62 Mets on teh '13 Marlins is Casey Stengel to explain their ineptitude.

[bittel]

Takeaways: Doc looked better than in his last start against a minor league lineup; I guess that's good.

--Howard is hitting RHP again; several hard-hit balls this series;

--Nix should almost never start; his LH pop late in games is valuable when plugged in at the right spot; plus he's a liability in right.

Galvis has to play more (assuming his hand isn't broken); how about the outfield, and trade Mayberry for anything at all?

--Revere needs to bat 8th

--Papelbon isn't going to have a great year. His stuff looks hittable.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Revere should bat 9th

[MG]

Hugh - I looked back on the '03 Tigers. Their best record was against the White Sox (8-11). Went 4-15 vs Twins who also won the AL Central that year by 4 GB over the White Sox.

Mets suck too. They are 7-4 but have played the Padres, Fish, Phils, and Twins. Fish and Twins are respectively the worst teams in their leagues and the Padres are bad team right now hit by a ton of injuries.

Phils absolutely have to keep winning series vs Fish/Mets if they have any shot at making the playoffs.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

I really wish the Phils managed to turn Victorino or Pence into Starling Marte last July. I recognize that they weren't worth it but, I still wish they did. Unfortunately, Pirates ownership would rather contemplate winning than actually experience it.

[MG]

I hope Halladay follows through on what LA said today in the 6th inning - trust his sinker more and stop driving with his legs so much which looked like it was screwing up his release point command.

Halladay isn't a good starter anymore but can be a serviceable starter if he goes sinker/curve/changeup with the occasional 4-seamer/cutter and lets the ball get put into play.

LA was spot on today with several great comments/observations. He also wasn't overly gloomy LA which can be kind of a drag to listen to.

[GBrettfan]

I'm very happy for Doc. It felt like climbing a mountain to get to win #200, but he did it. I hope he feels happy about it. May he win many more games this year.

May of us predicted a series loss. We barely squeaked out 2 wins, but at least we didn't drop 2. We did what we needed to do, even if we should have dominated the Fish.

[NEPP]

Good for Doc and good for the Phillies to win a series they should have swept.

[bullit]

i'm happy for doc too. he REALLY needed this. maybe the media will back off for awhile.

[GBrettfan]

Reading that Lidge piece:

"I think the greatest challenge, which is also the most frustrating part, is the length of time it takes to figure out what to do and how to get hitters out when you're not using Plan A anymore," Lidge said.

[Lake Fred]

I'm glad Doc had a nice outing for a solid win for #200. When does hitting season start?

[DPatrone]

The Braves can score in 1 inning than the Phils scored in 3 games against the worst teams in baseball. Anyone still think the Braves aren't improved over last year? Think again.

[GTown_Dave]

Revere should bat 10th.