J.A. Happ on the mound before the first game last night of a doubleheader at PNC Park in Moosic, Pennsylvania. 
Melvin Dorta at bat. J.A. Happ, assigned to the Lehigh Valley to get his act together, pitched last night for the IronPigs up at the old Red Barons' park in Moosic. I quite like this park because of the backdrop, of mountain, trees, and rocks. It's now home to the Triple-A Yankees and has been spiffed up considerably, most notably with a natural grass field. But oh my is the atmosphere subdued. We might call it dull.
Happ went six innings, throwing 101 pitches and giving up three runs on six hits. He also walked three and gave up a solo home run. He continues to work on command issues but overall appeared to be throwing better. When Happ is on, he has a balletic grace on the mound but he's not yet there. The IronPigs only threatened in the seventh (each game lasted just seven) but in the end were blanked 3-0.
I left after game one to listen to the Phillies game while driving home in the falling dusk. After all, Halladay was pitching. I picked the game up in the fourth, scoreless and already with mention of Travis Wood, the Reds' rookie lefty, being perfect. Amazing game! Wood was indeed perfect through eight, and Halladay, who allowed five hits but no runs, was just a tick behind. But Carlos Ruiz, just off the disabled list, led off the ninth with a sharp double. The Phillies could not convert and the game went into a tension-filled 10th, then 11th. In the bottom of the 11th, Carlos Ruiz again doubled. When Jimmy Rollins drilled a single to right, the ball game was over. The Phillies won 1-0. It was another thrilling ride home. What a game! What a series this has been.
After the Phillies-Reds game ended, I caught the end of game two up in Moosic on TV. The IronPigs won it 6-3 on another good outing by Andrew Carpenter, backed by timely hitting. Cliff Lee lost his debut with the Rangers, in a game that was reminiscent of several losses he had last year late in the season with the Phillies, giving up lots of homers and runs early. The Orioles, whose Chris Tillman had a no-no into the seventh, took it 6-1.
