The 2010 Philadelphia Phillies sometimes feel like the red-headed stepchild of the franchise’s miracle 2007-11 run. In 2007, the Phillies chased down the New York Mets to clinch on the final day of the season; in 2008, they won the World Series; in 2009, they won the pennant; and in 2011, they had the greatest rotation ever assembled… oh, what could have been.
Sure, 2010 was Roy Halladay’s first year in pinstripes. He threw the playoff no-hitter and the perfect game, but in hindsight, the season feels more like his showcase than anything, which is crazy because the Phillies won 97 games and ran away with the NL East. In the final two months of the season, they went 41-17 to vault from 3.5 games back to 7.0 games up.
Philadelphia was powered by Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz in the best seasons of their careers, and by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard at the end of their primes.
By late season, the deadline acquisition of Roy Oswalt turned the Phillies' front three of him, Halladay, and Hamels into the formidable H2O trio of aces.
But the high point for that collection of stars came on October 17, 2010.
After sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in the NLDS, closed out by an oft-overshadowed complete-game shutout from Cole Hamels, the Phillies took on the 92-win San Francisco Giants en route to their first title since 1954, when they played in the Polo Grounds.
It took 12 years for the Phillies to reach this high water mark again
On this day, though, 16 years ago, it seemed the Phillies might have stopped the Giants. Philadelphia lost 4-3 in Game 1 after Cody Ross hit two solo shots, giving the Giants a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. But the Phillies had Oswalt on the mound in Game 2, nigh unhittable since arriving on July 29.
He had posted a 1.74 ERA since the deadline and kept up his streak of dauntless performances that night, throwing eight innings of one-run ball and leading his squad to a 6-1 victory.
The Phillies needed no help from the long ball, walking five times and mashing three doubles off Johnathan Sánchez, romping to victory.
It felt like the team had made their statement. These were the Phillies we knew: invincible, invulnerable. Those Game 1 losers were banished. Like the past two seasons—we assumed—they would go on to beat their inferior NLCS opponents convincingly.
Game 2 would be the 2010 Phillies’ high-water mark. They went on to lose the NLCS in 6 games and never returned to that deep in the postseason until 2022, a grim reminder of how quickly a so-called dynasty can fall.
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