Roy Halladay got lots of standing O's last night---walking out to the bullpen, coming in from the bullpen, when the lineups were announced, and taking the field. Fresh off his perfect game, Halladay was effective, if not efficient, for seven innings. Despite giving up 10 hits, he held the Padres to two runs and got the win. That was also despite a shaky bullpen eighth, when Jose Contreras hit the first batter, got an out, then walked the next. Enter J.C. Romero, who promptly walked the first man he faced before getting a crisp 5-3 double play to keep the score 3-2 Phils. The Phillies scored when Halladay singled, then Victoino homered him in. The Pads came back to tie it up, but the Phillies, who twice had the bases loaded, inched ahead on a bases-loaded walk by Jayson Werth. A walk is indeed as good as a hit. The Phillies managed only six of the latter but gave hope of more to come.It was great to see Brad Lidge warming up in the bullpen in the 8th. By the time he came into the game, I was circling the concourse and only caught glimpses of his sparkling 1-2-3 performance, a ground-out and two strike outs.
The background story was game four of the Stanley Cup, playing out across the street. When I left the park, the Flyers were up 4-1 and things were looking rosy until a dumb penalty gave the Blackhawks life. Not a good time for dumb Flyer penalties to rear their ugly heads. The 'Hawks got it to 4-3 but an empty-netter by Jeff Carter sealed the 5-3 win late. Time now for the Flyers to win one on Chicago ice.
