WASHINGTON — Roy Halladay stood in the middle of the sort of wild clubhouse celebration he’d longed to be a part of for so many years, a pair of goggles perched on the brim of his dark cap with “Playoffs” written in white above a red Phillies “P.”
Rookie mistake, putting those goggles up there, instead of over his eyes: Halladay scrunched his face and braced against the sting as teammate Jayson Werth poured a full bottle of bubbly over him.
Yes, the Philadelphia Phillies are the NL East champions for the fourth consecutive year - and Halladay is heading to the playoffs for the first time. Fittingly, the right-hander helped seal the deal.
Halladay allowed only two hits to earn his 21st victory with his fourth shutout and ninth complete game - all highs in the majors this season - and Werth drove in four runs, leading the Phillies to an 8-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on Monday night, wrapping up the division with five games left.
“That’s the reason you want to come to a team like this. They know how to do it,” Halladay said, a bottle clutched in his hands. “It’s the coolest thing I’ve been a part of. It’s just the start, I think.”
The Phillies have the league’s best record and are assured of home-field advantage throughout the postseason - the NL won the All-Star game - although it’s still uncertain which team they’ll face next week in the division series.
Halladay (21-10) will be on the big stage of the playoffs for the first time in his 13th major league season, having played his entire career with the Toronto Blue Jays before being traded to Philadelphia last winter.
The Phillies let Halladay, catcher Brian Schneider and bench player Mike Sweeney pop the first champagne corks when they went to the clubhouse, because they are veterans who never have participated in the playoffs.
“I’ve watched it too much from the side,” Halladay said, noting that he had seen such clinching parties on TV only, “so just glad to be a part of it.”
Normally stoic on the mound, the 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner punched his glove with his pitching hand after striking out a swinging Danny Espinosa for the final out.
“I wanted him out there,” Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel said of letting Halladay go the distance. “I felt like he earned it, and he deserved it.”
After the final out, Halladay instantly broke into a big smile, and the Phillies gathered in the middle of the diamond for hugs and high-fives. Thousands of red-clad, towel-waving Phillies fans in the announced crowd of 14,309 gave a standing ovation then began their last in a long series of chants of “Let’s go, Phillies !”
“It was fun, but it’s only going to get funner,” Halladay said.
DODGERS 3, ROCKIES 1
Ted Lilly (19-8) scattered four hits over eight innings and visiting Los Angeles prevented Ubaldo Jimenez from getting his 20th victory. Casey Blake went 3 for 4 with two doubles, two RBI and scored Los Angeles’ other run as the Dodgers put the Rockies on the brink of elimination.
CARDINALS 6, PIRATES 4
Matt Holliday homered and drove in three runs and host St. Louis beat Pittsburgh, staying in the NL Central race for at least one more day. A Cardinals loss would have clinched the division for Cincinnati.
American League RED SOX 6, WHITE SOX 1
Clay Buchholz outpitched Mark Buehrle and Boston beat host Chicago, postponing clinching parties for the Red Sox’ AL East rivals. A Red Sox loss would’ve locked up playoff spots for the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees. Instead, Boston took an early lead, pulled away and stayed mathematically in the wild-card race while the Rays and Yankees lost.
BLUE JAYS 7, YANKEES 5
Vernon Wells hit a three-run home run, John Buck added a home run and host Toronto pounded A.J. Burnett (Central Arkansas Christian), then held on for a victory over New York. Burnett (10-15), who has lost seven of his past 11 starts, allowed 7 runs and 7 hits in 2 1 /3 innings, his second shortest start of the year. The right-hander, who walked one and struck out one, is 0-3 with a 9.61 ERA in four starts against his former team this season.
ORIOLES 4, RAYS 0
Brian Matusz pitched seven shutout innings and Nick Markakis drove in two runs with a triple and a single, leading visiting Baltimore over AL East-leading Tampa Bay. Matusz (9-12) allowed three hits, two of them infield singles.
MARINERS 7, RANGERS 5
Justin Smoak homered and had three hits, David Pauley pitched six effective innings and visiiting Seattle edged AL West champion Texas. Pauley (4-8) allowed 2 runs and 8 hits, struck out 3 and walked 2.
INDIANS 6, TIGERS 3 Andres Galarraga went from unhittable to giving up three home runs in an 18-pitch span and host Cleveland beat Detroit. Galarraga (5-8) didn’t give up a hit until Matt LaPorta hit a 412-foot home run to center leading off the fifth. One out later, Luke Carlin homered to right. Travis Hafner hit a three-run shot with two outs for a 5-2 lead.
ROYALS 10, TWINS 8 Jarrod Dyson hit his first major league home run and caught 10 fly balls in center field, tying a team record and helping host Kansas City beat Minnesota.
Monday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 8, Washington 0 Atlanta 2, Florida 1, 11 innings Milwaukee at New York, ppd., rain St. Louis 6, Pittsburgh 4 LA Dodgers 3, Colorado 1 Chicago Cubs at San Diego, (n)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland 6, Detroit 3 Toronto 7, NY Yankees 5 Baltimore 4, Tampa Bay 0 Seattle 7, Texas 5 Boston 6, Chicago White Sox 1 Kansas City 10, Minnesota 8 Oakland at LA Angels, (n)
Sports, Pages 17 on 09/28/2010