Long before Roy Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels talked about Philadelphia’s three aces always trying to outdo each other.
Halladay set the bar high with a brilliant performance in the Phillies’ 4-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the NL division series on Wednesday.
Next up is Oswalt. He starts Game 2 on Friday.
“Just go out there and be comfortable, get a comfortable atmosphere and pitch to his ability and his knowledge on how to pitch. The only way for Oswalt to top Halladay would be to pitch a perfect game. While Halladay is a leading candidate to win the NL Cy Young Award and now has a no-hitter to go with his perfect game earlier this season, Oswalt was Philadelphia’s best pitcher down the stretch.
Acquired from Houston on July 29, the three-time All-Star went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 13 games with the Phillies. Oswalt was 7-0 with a 1.17 ERA in his last 10 starts. Halladay was 8-2 with a 3.10 ERA during that span. Hamels was pretty impressive, too. He was 5-3 with a 2.15 ERA.
You have a team that plays with the starting staff, and you have a real good mix of guys here. Oswalt was part of another rotation that featured three aces when he pitched in Houston. The Astros had Oswalt, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte from 2004-06. They won the NLCS in ’05 before getting swept by the Chicago White Sox in the World Series.
“I compare the starting staff a lot to ’05,” Oswalt said. Watching Halladay and Cole, they remind me a lot of Clemens and Pettitte. Oswalt has dominated the Reds throughout his career. He won his first 15 decisions, and is 23-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 34 games against Cincinnati. Overall, Oswalt was 13-13 with a 2.76 ERA this year. He’s never lost a game at Citizens Bank Park, going 9-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 10 starts. The Phillies won consecutive 1-0 games to complete a four-game sweep before the All-Star break and Halladay opened the playoffs with his gem.
“This is a very resilient team,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. Bronson Arroyo, one of six Reds with previous postseason experience, will try to send the series back to Cincinnati even at 1. Arroyo is 1-5 with a 5.54 ERA in eight games against Philadelphia. The right-hander was 17-10 with a 3.88 ERA this year.
Arroyo played for Boston in 2004 when the Red Sox overcame a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees in the ALCS and went on to win the World Series. He’s pitched in a hostile atmosphere in the postseason, and won’t let the Philly fans bother him.
“I know these fans here are serious about the game. I loved playing in the stadiums when guys are screaming obscenities about my mother.”
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