There were lots of Halladay jerseys in the crowd on Thursday. The man in front of me was wearing this one, a birthday present, he said. Last night's game, Halladay's home debut, must have seen even more Halladay shirts. And the ace did not disappoint, going eight sparkling innings despite a more or less steady rainfall. He left after the 8th with the score 8-2; the Phillies' offense too did not disappoint. Placido Polanco and Chase Utley continued on their early-season tears; both homered last night. And Juan Castro had three RBI, including a sac fly, in the game. That makes six for Castro since taking the place of the injured Jimmy Rollins.Because of the long delay after the 8th for the grounds crew to deal with the soggy conditions, Halladay came out of the game. David Herndon came in for the three last outs and promptly fell victim to what plagued the bullpen the day before. Well, not quite, as Herndon, whose sinker was not sinking, kept giving up little hits here and there. Pretty soon the Marlins had put three on the board, with men on board. Ryan Madson had to come in to finish things off for the 8-6 win.
I cannot wait to see Halladay pitch in person and do wish I had not had to bail on the San Francisco trip next week. I also look forward to seeing how Herndon rebounds from his bit of adversity.
J.C. Romero pitched the first inning of the IronPigs game and looked good. The game was washed out in the second.
