I hope you were lucky enough to watch the Reds-Phillies game tonight. It may have been the best one of the season.
Reds starter Travis Wood, making just his third career start, carried a perfect game through eight innings. Unfortunately for him, his teammates never got him a run as Roy Halladay matched his zeroes, if not his perfection, going nine shutout innings of his own and striking out nine while allowing one walk and scattering five hits. Carlos Ruiz broke up the perfect game with a leadoff double in the ninth and I fully expected Dusty Baker to pull the plug on Wood but Wood pitched around it, retiring the next three hitters in succession thanks it part to Joey Votto reaching over the dugout railing to catch a Jimmy Rollins pop out with Ruiz on third and two out.
There was a critical moment in the game in the top of the eighth. The Reds got Miguel Cairo to third base with one out and had Ryan Hanigan and Wood due up. Hanigan is having a strong season with the bat but Halladay struck him out. Then came Wood, with the go-ahead run on third and two outs. The situation presented Dusty an interesting decision: pinch hit for Wood to try and get that run home in a tie game or let Wood hit for himself to preserve his chance at a perfect game. Remember, the Reds are in a pennant race, entering play two games up on the Cardinals in the NL Central. That run was vitally important. I don't think any manager would have pinch hit for Wood in that spot so I'm not faulting Dusty for letting Wood hit for himself but it is an interesting dilemma to have given the circumstances. Alas, Halladay struck him out as well.
The Reds loaded the bases in the 10th off enigmatic Phillies closer Brad Lidge but Lidge got out of it.
After failing to drive in Ruiz in the last of the ninth, Rollins got another chance to do the same in the last of the 11th, again with two outs. This time, facing Logan Ondrusek, Rollins delivered to give the Phillies a 1-0 win.
In this Year of the Pitcher, this was the best pitched game yet.
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