After a tenth inning 3-1 victory on Friday night and a walk-off 2-1 loss last evening, the Phillies enter the series finale at Marlins Park this afternoon looking to win their second series of the season and pull their record to an even .500. Taking the mound in this afternoons contest will be two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay, looking to squash all the questions surrounding him to start the season.
In 2012, Halladay had his worst season since 2000, the season that caused him to be demoted all the way to Single A Ball. After an uncharacteristic season, many questions swirled around Halladay during Spring Training, and he did little to silence his critics as he struggled again with command and velocity.
After his first two starts this season Halladay is the not so proud owner of an 0-2 record with a 14.73 ERA. Halladay's command and velocity issues have persisted early in the season causing many people to wonder if his career is coming to a close.
While his loss of velocity is cause for some concern, the more pertinent issue is Halladay's struggles with his command, something he has been known for throughout his career. Halladay has admitted that he is trying too hard to aim his pitches, which is one of the first things a pitcher is taught not to do in baseball. Halladay will need to adjust in order to regain his previous form, as he enters an adapt or die phase of his career.
The man known by many as Doc, is now looking to reinvent himself for the second time in his career. The first time went very well and there is no reason to think the second try won't as well. Plenty of pitchers have made careers with less velocity than what Halladay currently has, so to regain his form he will just need to find his command.
Lost in much of the talk about Halladay's early struggles has been the fact that one of the Phillies other aces, Cole Hamels, has struggled just as mightily. Hamels bounced back and pitched superb last night, throwing six innings while allowing only one run. Halladay will look to continue the Phillies string of solid pitching in this series when he takes the mound this afternoon.
Looking to silence his critics, Halladay will face a Marlins lineup that will likely be without the services of Giancarlo Stanton yet again, which should help. So get ready because at 1:10 this afternoon, Halladay will take the mound in front of approximately 1,000 senior citizens who show up at Marlins Park, as the Phillies look for their second series win in a row. Will Doc silence his critics? Or will he simply add more fuel to his critics fire?
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