April 30, 2007
The Finisher
Roy Halladay pitches his second complete game of the season, using just 110 pitches in a time of 2:02 as Toronto defeats Texas 6-1. Halladay struck out eight and walked none, lowering his ERA to 2.28. Depending on how Lackey finishes his game, that will be third or fourth in the American League. With the complete game tonight, Halladay averages close to eight innings per start.
Update: Lackey lasts 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run. That lowers his ERA to 2.19, leaving him .01 behind Gil Meche.
Posted by David Pinto at
10:13 PM
|
Pitchers
|
TrackBack (0)
As soon as Padilla gave up those homers in the second, everybody knew the game was over. At least Halladay finished the business with his usual dispatch.
What's almost more amazing than all the complete games is the efficiency he's pitching with. Check out his pitch counts this year: 9 IP, 110 pitches; 8 IP, 107 pitches; 7.1 IP, 95 pitches; 10 IP, 107 pitches (!); 7 IP, 113 pitches; 6 IP, 104 pitches. He topped 110 pitches only three times all of last year and got four complete games.
If he stays healthy this year, he'll be the front runner to win the Cy Young again, especially with Johan Santana unusually struggling so far this year. Josh Beckett has for been having a great season too, but he still needs to prove he can do it consistently over the whole season.
