Halladay defends Utley’s honor as Phils beat Nationals
Roy Halladay threw four scoreless innings in a 6-3 Phillies victory Wednesday over the Washington Nationals. The ace righty looked like his old self, allowing just two hits, one walk while striking out two. Halladay out-dueled Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg in front of the largest home crowd so far this spring at Bright House Field.
Halladay (2-0, 2.16 ERA) was mostly brilliant, save one errant fastball that everyone was talking about after the game. He chucked a high and tight one behind Tyler Moore minutes after Strasburg plunked Chase Utley on the left foot.
When asked about the pitch, Halladay smiled and told reporters it “slipped.” Moore went on to double in the at-bat, but the message was clear: the Phillies aren’ lying down this season, not even in an exhibition game in early March.
Offensively, Domonic Brown continued his stellar spring by going 2-for-3 with a double, upping his average to .385. Laynce Nix knocked in a pair of runs, with Michael Young (infield single) and Ryan Howard (groundout) delivering RBIs. Josh Fields stroked a solo home run in the seventh inning.
Cliff Lee will take the mound Thursday against Minnesota.
