Phillies' Halladay throws perfect game

Stoic as always, Roy Halladay's expression never changed.

Until the end, that is.

Until there was history — a perfect game, the marquee performance of his all-star career.

The Philadelphia Phillies' ace threw the 20th perfect game in major league history, beating the Florida Marlins 1-0 on Saturday night.

At 9:23 p.m. ET, when he got pinch-hitter Ronny Paulino to hit a grounder to third for the 27th out, only then could Halladay bask in his moment — breaking into a big smile and wrapping his arms around catcher Carlos Ruiz before disappearing in a joyous, jumping grey-and-red mob of teammates.

"It's never something that you think is possible," Halladay said. "Really, once I got the two outs, I felt like I had a chance. You're always aware of it. It's not something that you expect."

It was the second perfect game in the majors this month alone, unheralded Dallas Braden doing it for Oakland against Tampa Bay on May 9. It's the first time in the modern era that there were a pair of perfect games in the same season — Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez threw a no-hitter, too, in April.

Halladay struck out 11, and was cheered by a crowd of 25,086 throughout much of the night. Another fan called later — U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden dialled up the Phillies' clubhouse to offer his congratulations when it was over.

"Early in my bullpen I was hitting spots more than I have been. I felt like I just carried that out there," Halladay said.

While there were a couple of good plays behind him — shortstop Wilson Valdez went deep into the hole for a grounder, backup third baseman Juan Castro went to his knees for another, second baseman Chase Utley ranged well to his left for another fine play — Halladay didn't need any great defensive work in this gem.

"I think everybody knows you have to have those kind of plays to do something like that," Halladay said.

Yes, but on this night, the 33-year-old righty known as Doc was a veritable one-man show.

"You've got to take your hat off to Doc," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "That's why he is who he is. That's what they got him for."

Big smile

Steely-eyed, standing tall and always working swiftly, Halladay (7-3) broke into a big smile as his teammates rushed in to congratulate him.

"That's a big emotion for him," Phillies left-hander Jamie Moyer said, laughing in the clubhouse. "It's fun to watch."

The Marlins said they would give Halladay the pitching rubber as a souvenir, leading to a slightly surreal scene. The lights at Sun Life Stadium went out and fireworks began exploding two minutes after the game ended, with the field crew preparing for a post-game concert behind second base.

Working in the dark, four men went to work on the mound, digging up the slab where Halladay made history.

"Look who's pitching," Marlins outfielder Cody Ross said. "It's Roy Halladay, the best pitcher in baseball. It's not embarrassing."

The concert lasted more than an hour.

On this night, Halladay was the lone maestro.

The right-hander has long been dominant, and the former AL Cy Young winner was the centerpiece of a multiteam trade that brought him from Toronto to the two-time National League champions in the off-season.

He was within one out of a no-hitter on Sept. 27, 1998, in just his second major league start, pitching for the Blue Jays against Detroit. Pinch-hitter Bobby Higginson ended that on the first pitch he saw, hitting a solo home run.

"It's hard to explain," Halladay said. "There's days where things just kind of click and things happen. It's something you obviously, you don't ever go out and try to do. It's a great feeling. It's a lot better than the eight and two-thirds."

1-2-3 9th inning

Halladay faced three Marlins pinch-hitters in the ninth. Mike Lamb led off with a long fly ball that was caught on the center-field warning track, Wes Helms struck out looking and Paulino hit a grounder that backup third baseman Juan Castro ranged to his left to get.

In a week that saw the hard-hitting Phillies get shut out on three straight days by the New York Mets, Halladay delivered the most masterful pitching performance of all.

"He did what he had to do," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We gave him one run. He made it stand up. That was good. Super for him."

It was the Phillies' second perfect game, with Jim Bunning having thrown one in 1964.

On the short list of baseball's perfect games, there are the first two: John Richmond and John Ward pitched them five days apart in 1880, two decades before what is considered the modern era.

This was the Phillies' second perfect game, with Jim Bunning having thrown one in 1964. Philadelphia has thrown 10 no-hitters, the last by Kevin Millwood in 2003.

It was the second time the Marlins had been no-hit in their history, the lone other coming by the Dodgers' Ramon Martinez on July 14, 1995.

Halladay credited catcher Carlos Ruiz for a smooth ride.

"We felt like we got in a groove early and about the fifth or the sixth I was just following Chooch," he said. "I can't say enough about the job he did today. Mixed pitches. For me it was really a no-brainer."

There have now been three perfect games in the last 10 months, with Mark Buehrle doing it last July 23 for the Chicago White Sox against Tampa Bay.

Halladay had a complete-game one-hitter last September against the New York Yankees, though with far less drama, thanks to Ramiro Pena getting a double to right field in the sixth inning.

Unshakable on the mound, not even three-ball counts fazed Halladay.

He went to either 3-1 or 3-2 counts seven times, twice in the game's first three batters alone, and always worked out of the trouble. Chris Coghlan tossed his bat aside on the Marlins' first plate appearance of the night, thinking he'd drawn a walk, only to hear plate umpire Mike DiMuro call strike three.

For the Marlins, Johnson threw a career-high 121 pitches in seven innings, giving up seven hits, one unearned run, one intentional walk and striking out six.

His night was stellar — and didn't even come close to comparing to his counterpart.

"He's the best right-hander in the game," Johnson said, "and he kind of proved it."