CAPTIONBy Wilfredo Lee, AP
Saturday he was even better than that – downright perfect.
The Philadelphia Phillies ace retired all 27 Florida Marlins he faced, throwing the 20th perfect game in history in a 1-0 victory at Sun Life Stadium in Miami.
Facing three pinch hitters in the ninth inning, Halladay got Mike Lamb on a deep fly to center, struck out Wes Helms looking – the right-hander's 11th strikeout of the game, a season high – and induced a groundout to third from Ronny Paulino, with third baseman Juan Castro ranging to his left to gobble it up.
Always stoic on the mound, Halladay (7-3) broke into a big smile as his teammates rushed in to congratulate him. Catcher Carlos Ruiz was the first one to reach Halladay, and the two embraced in the infield as the rest of the team promptly joined in.
"We felt like we got in a groove early and about the fifth or sixth I was just following Chooch,'' Halladay said in an on-field TV interview, calling Ruiz by his nickname. "I can't say enough about the job he did today. Mixed pitches. For me it was really a no-brainer.
"Early in my bullpen (before the game) I felt like I was hitting spots more than I have been, and I felt like I just carried that out there.''
Halladay got a nice play in the eighth on Jorge Cantu's hot smash, with Castro going down to his knees to snare it, recovering and throwing to first in plenty of time. When Cody Ross popped to short to end the eighth, Halladay showed no emotion, simply walking to the dugout with his head bowed a bit, tugging once on the left shoulder of his gray jersey.
This was the second perfect game in Phillies history – Hall of Famer Jim Bunning threw one against the New York Mets on June 21, 1964 – and the second one in the majors this month. The Oakland A's Dallas Braden performed the feat against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 9.
It is the first time in the modern era there have been a pair of perfectos in the same season. In addition, the Colorado Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez threw a no-hitter in April.
Halladay's was the third perfect game in the last 10 months, with Mark Buehrle doing it last July 23 for the Chicago White Sox against Tampa Bay.
Halladay had a complete-game one-hitter last September against the New York Yankees, though with far less drama, thanks to Ramiro Pena getting a double to right field in the sixth inning.
Even before Saturday, Halladay had certainly lived up to expectations since being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in a multi-team trade, going 6-3 with a 2.22 ERA in his first 10 starts.
Halladay, the 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner, was within one out of a no-hitter on Sept. 27, 1998, in just his second major league start, pitching for the Blue Jays against Detroit. Pinch-hitter Bobby Higginson ended that on the first pitch he saw, hitting a solo home run.
On Saturday, the crowd of 25,086 was with Halladay much of the way, especially in the ninth.
Paulino fouled the first pitch into the seats along the first-base side, took ball one, swung and missed for strike two, then hit a groundball to third. Castro ranged to his left to get it and threw across to first baseman Ryan Howard, who caught the ball and jumped in the air.
It was over, and the Phillies mobbed Halladay, surrounding him in a circle as stadium workers immediately — and inexplicably — ran out to sweep the mound and plate area.
In a week that saw the hard-hitting Phillies get shut out on three straight days by the New York Mets, Halladay delivered the most masterful pitching performance of all.
Philadelphia has thrown 10 no-hitters, the last by Kevin Millwood in 2003. It was the second time the Marlins had been no-hit, the lone other coming by the Dodgers' Ramon Martinez on July 14, 1995.
The NL East leaders' lone run off Josh Johnson (5-2) came in the third, and fittingly in this battle of aces, it was unearned. Wilson Valdez singled, then scored when Chase Utley's fly to center skipped off Cameron Maybin's glove for a three-base error.
Valdez scored easily and Halladay had all the support he needed.
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