That was impressive.
I know Roy Halladay is good, but that was old-school domination. You just don't see pitching performances like that any more. I'd go as far to say that there aren't many Houston offenses that could have had more success against Halladay on this day.
His performance masked the fact that Houston lost its 98th game, setting the franchise record for losses in a season. 13 games left, Astros. Let's not lose them all.
As good as Doc was, the Houston pitching staff shut down the Phillies offense pretty effectively for the third straight day. This time, it was Bud Norris throwing seven innings of four hit, one run ball while striking out three in seven innings. That dropped his ERA to 3.68 for the season and moved 27 strikeouts away from 200 for the season. Wesley Wright and Wilton Lopez each chipped in solid relief work as each struck out two.
But, Houston just couldn't dent the presumed Cy Young winner in this one. Surprisingly, it was the rookies who did the best against Halladay, as Jimmy Paredes went 2 for 4 and both Jose Altuve and J.D. Martinez went 1 for 3 with Martinez picking up a walk as well.
That was the only walk Halladay allowed all day, which is not exactly surprising, giving Houston's lineup, but underscores just how good he was.
Have I sufficiently expressed how impressed I was with Halladay? I'm not even mad, I'm impressed. Let's hope Houston can continue to pitch well in Chicago this weekend.