After a Spring full of questioning and speculation, Roy Halladay took the mound for his first regular season start of 2013. For the Braves, Paul Maholm looked to continue his impressive Spring Training numbers.
In the first, Jimmy Rollins blooped a double to left field, but remained at second. Halladay would then take the mound and throw over 30 pitches. A Jason Heyward single, followed by Justin Upton's second homerun of the season, gave the Braves a 2-0 lead. Two walks and a single plates Freddie Freeman. 3-0 Braves.
After two singles to start the second, the Phillies failed to score. All three Braves struck out in the bottom of the inning.
Jimmy Rollins got on base once again in the third, but could not get home. Another single and a walk went unnoticed, as Juan Francisco grounded to Ryan Howard. This ended a streak of eight straight strikeouts to start the game for Doc Halladay.
Domonic Brown would get his third hit of the season in the fourth, and Mayberry reached on an error by 3B Juan Francisco. Back-to-back K's ended the scoring opportunity. The bottom half of the inning lasted awhile (I was able to go out, pick up dinner, and return before the start of the fifth). Evan Gattis started it off with his first major league hit, a solo homerun. 4-0 Braves. A single by Andrelton Simmons signaled the end of Halladay's game. His final line: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 9K, and the loss. Raul Valdes made his first appearance of 2013, giving up two walks, a 3-run double to Freddie Freeman, and two K's. 7-0 Braves.
1-2-3 fifth innings for both squads. Sixth inning quiet as well, other than Antonio Bastardo replacing Valdes.
Pinch-hitter Laynce Nix and Ben Revere single to lead off the seventh inning. Following a Rollins fly out, Chase Utley popped a two-run double to right. 7-2 Braves. Ryan Howard would then strike out. Michael Young grounded a ball in front of the plate, and the throw from pitcher Luis Avilan hit him a step away from first. Chase Utley then scored from second, but everything was erased when the play was called dead on interference. The third out of the inning came on Young apparently running too far out of the baseline. Mike Adam came in for a 1-2-3 end of the seventh.
1-2-3 eighth inning for the Phillies. Jonathan Papelbon came in. After two relatively quick outs, he gave up a single to Simmons and a homerun to Heyward. 9-2 Braves.
A quick ninth innings ends a miserable night for the Phillies. Braves win 9-2.
Mother Nature seemed to set the mood for tonight's ball game. From the first pitch on, the rain did not let up, and neither did the Braves. They hit another three home runs in tonight's game. Obviously, 160 games remain and the season is still very young. However, the many things the Phillies needed to have go right this year have not. We will see if things change tomorrow night, as Cliff Lee will take on Kris Medlen.
Andrew Gillen is a featured writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewJGillen
