The 2010 NLDS between the Reds and Phillies got off to a routine start. In his first career Postseason start, Roy Halladay set down the first three Reds he faced. The Phillies plated a run in hte bottom of the first after a Chase Utley sac fly. Halladay set down three more Reds hitters without breaking a sweat in the second. Philadelphia tacked on three more runs in the second following RBI singles from Halladay and Shane Victorino.
But as the game continued to move along, a buzz began to form as the crowd realized what was happening. The buzz dissipated a little bit after Halladay walked Jay Bruce in the fifth, but picked right back up again in the late innings. And finally, when all was said and done and Carlos Ruiz threw Brandon Phillips out at first base to end the game, Halladay had made history. He was the second player in baseball history to throw a no-hitter in the Postseason.
This was just an incredible turn of events. In Halladay’s first career Postseason start, he becomes the second pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter in the playoffs (following Don Larsen’s 1956 World Series perfect game), and just the fifth pitcher to ever throw two no-hitters in a season (following his perfect game in Miami that May).
Check out this infographic detailing Halladay’s brush with history (click to enlarge).
Dominant pitchers show up in every form in the playoffs. In fact, when the NLDS kicks off on Fox Sports 1 this Friday, we’ll see a guy that has already thrown a no-hitter this year – Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. When you figure that Jordan Zimmermann of the Nationals, Tim Lincecum of the Giants, Jered Weaver of the Angels, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez of the Tigers, Ubaldo Jimenez of the Orioles, Francisco Liriano of the Pirates, and Jon Lester of the A’s have all thrown no-hitters in their careers, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to consider that one of them could match that feat in the playoffs (though Lincecum, Sanchez, and Jimenez will likely be working out of the bullpen).
Also, consider this: pitchers like Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Adam Wainwright, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, David Price, Madison Bumgarner, Gerrit Cole, James Shields, and Jeff Samardzija are involved in this Postseason. They’ve all showed dominant, soul-taking stuff at times, just like Halladay did over his illustrious career. 2014 has been one of the most dominant years we’ve seen for pitchers in decades, and if a pitcher were to join Larsen and Halladay in Postseason immortality, I’d bet on it happening this year.
