Phillies remember anniversary of Roy Halladay’s playoff no-hitter

Roy Halladay dazzled Phillies fans in his MLB playoff debut with a no-hitter to open the NLDS against the Reds nine years ago today.

While the Phillies are not in the playoffs right now, fans can still enjoy the memory of playoffs from years past. Sunday marks the nine-year anniversary of Roy Halladay’s no-hitter against the Reds, easily one of the best playoff memories from Philadelphia’s late 2000s and early 2010s run.

The Phillies and Reds opened up the 2010 National League Division Series on Oct. 6, 2019. Philadelphia entered the series as the favorite after finishing the season with the best record in the major-leagues. They looked to set the tone early with Halladay, their ace and presumptive Cy Young winner.

There was some question about how Halladay would fare in his first major-league playoff game. The 33-year-old had never made it to the playoffs after pitching for the Blue Jays for 12 years. After a blockbuster winter trade to go from Toronto to Philadelphia, he finally had a chance to pitch in the playoffs.

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Halladay was dealing from the beginning, needing just ten pitches to get out of the first inning. He got all the run support he needed in the bottom of the inning thanks to a Chase Utley sacrifice fly. Halladay added to his own cause with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, and Shane Victorino tacked on two more to make it 4-0, a score that would last the rest of the game.

Halladay continued to mow down Reds before issuing a full-count walk to Jay Bruce in the fifth inning. It was the only thing keeping him from his second perfect game of the year as his first came against the Marlins in May. He quickly regained momentum with a fielder’s choice to end the fifth and the Reds never got another runner on base after that.

Once the ninth inning rolled around, the entire stadium was on its feet. Ramon Hernandez popped out to Utley at second and Miguel Cairo fouled to Wilson Valdez at third base. As Halladay faced off against Brandon Phillips, Citizens Bank Park was rocking.

Carlos Ruiz, who guided Halladay all season long, made the final out, fielding a dribbler in front of the plate and throwing out Phillips at first. The celebration was on from there after Halladay opened up his postseason career in the best possible passion.

Halladay was just the second pitcher to throw a no-hitter in MLB postseason history. While the outing did not impact his Cy Young bid, it was just one more thing to add to his already impressive resume in 2010. He was the unanimous pick for the Cy Young award, joining a select group of pitchers to win the award in both leagues.

Halladay’s postseason no-hitter played a significant role in his posthumous election to the Hall of Fame. He was already in an elite group of pitchers thanks to his regular-season performance and accolades, but his playoff no-hitter was the final piece of evidence needed to make him a Hall of Famer.