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In first trip back to Toronto since the trade that brought him here a season and a half ago, Halladay gave up 3 runs and eight hits while striking out eight for his sixth straight win, which tied for him the MLB lead at 11.
Roy Halladay made his name in Toronto as a member of the Blue Jays and as he did many, many times as a member of that team, he throw a complete game victory this afternoon. However, this time, it was for the visitors.
In first trip back to Toronto since the trade that brought him here a season and a half ago, Halladay gave up 3 runs and eight hits while striking out eight for his sixth straight win, which tied for him the MLB lead at 11. He received a standing ovation from the home crowd when he came out to pitch.
Chase Utley was the hero at the plate with a 2-run go ahead shot in the seventh, while the Phils were trailing 3-2. For the Jays, Jose Bautista hit his MLB leading 26th homer.
The Phils will look for the sweep tomorrow afternoon as Cliff Lee faces Jo-Jo Reyes.
Toronto, ON (Sports Network) - Ryan Howard's two-run single in the top of the ninth inning lifted Philadelphia to a 7-6 defeat of Toronto in the opener of a three-game interleague set from Rogers Centre.
Shane Victorino finished with three hits, two RBI and scored two runs for the Phillies, who have won four of the last five games. Ben Francisco added two doubles and drove in two runs and Carlos Ruiz added a run batted in.
Danys Baez (2-3) turned in a scoreless eighth inning for the win and Antonio Bastardo shut the door in the ninth for his fourth save.
Eric Thames posted two hits, including a two-run homer, and Edwin Encarnacion added a two-run double for the Blue Jays, who have dropped four of five.
Jose Bautista hit a go-ahead two-run blast in the bottom of the seventh for Toronto, but Frank Francisco (1-4) coughed up the lead and took the loss, charged with the deciding runs over one-third of an inning.
What Were Chase Utley and Shane VictorinoThinking?
Don't get me wrong, Chase Utley and Shane Victorino are great players. They know how to play the game and will never be accused of not hustling and playing all out every day, But did anyone see the first inning of today's game? Carlos Villanueva started off the game by throwing 8 consecutive balls putting Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco on. Utley comes up and swings at three straight balls to strike out swinging. I cant possibly imagine what he was thinking, I just hope Charlie Manuel said something to him either during or after the game.
Next up is Ryan Howard who singles to drive in Rollins. Then comes Victorino, who again swings at the first pitch and flies out to shallow center. Now I know its easy to second guess an out, and hindsight is 20-20, but come on. If a pitcher hasn't even thrown a strike yet why would you go up and swing at three straight balls, and if a guy clearly cant find the strike zone why would you go up swinging? Even if you are looking for a certain pitch to hit and assuming he will throw a strike to try and get ahead, odds are at that point he cant throw a strike, so whether you guess right or not it wont be in the strike zone and you wont get good wood on it, hence a shallow fly out.
The Phillies are playing great this year, but the hitting has not been there alot, and little things like these are the reasons why.
Jul 02 6:45p by Mike Handley