Halladay blanks Royals on 97 pitches for 10th win
Overbay extends hitting streak, Hill homers in Jays' series-clinching victory
Last Updated: Sunday, June 7, 2009 | 5:46 PM ET
CBC Sports
Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay wipes his brow Sunday on the way to the 43rd complete game of his career. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)Lyle Overbay remained in a groove at the plate, Aaron Hill felt a sense of relief circling the bases and Roy Halladay was his usual economic self on the mound.
Overbay and Hill homered Sunday afternoon to provide more than enough support for Halladay as the Blue Jays ace posted the 43rd complete game of his career and third this season in a 4-0 win over the visiting Kansas City Royals.
After throwing a career-high 133 pitches in his previous start, Halladay needed only 97 (73 strikes) to earn his major league-leading 10th win of the season and hand the Royals their ninth loss in 10 games.
Good as Halladay's ever been, Overbay?
"Honestly," said the first baseman, thinking it over, "I've seen him better. That's why he's so good, because he hasn't had his [best] stuff yet and he's still able to dominate… It's scary what he can do. We still haven't seen it, I don't think. He's getting there but I still think he's got something."
The tall right-hander lowered his earned-run average to 2.52 by recording 16 ground ball outs, scattering seven hits and striking out six in his second consecutive complete game and 12th career shutout.
On pace to top 22 wins
Halladay is already halfway to the third 20-win season of his career and is on track to improve on the personal-best 22 victories he posted in his Cy Young season in 2003.
"It's the best run-support I've ever had, that's for sure, and that makes a huge difference," Halladay, backed by an average of about seven runs per start, said in explaining his strong start. "There were games early on where I didn't necessarily pitch great and we scored enough runs.
"For me, that's far and away been the biggest difference."
Halladay retired Kansas City in order in five of the nine innings, scooping up a Mark Teahen dribbler to the mound and throwing the ball to Overbay at first base for the final out.
"He just took it up to a whole other level," marvelled Overbay.
Added Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston: "That's just a sign of superstars. They're like that. When they need to kick it up a notch they have a notch to kick up...
"He's just like the other hall of famers that I know," Gaston continued, mentioning Bob Gibson specifically. "You talk about hall of famers, you can put Doc in the same category as these guys. If he stays healthy he will be one."
Doc works out of jam in 7th
Trailing 4-0, the Royals threatened to score in the fourth inning on back-to-back singles from Billy Butler and Mike Jacobs. But Halladay got Jose Guillen to ground into a double play and Teahen to ground out to Overbay.
In the seventh, Kansas City loaded the bases on three singles, but Halladay struck out Miguel Olivo and Mitch Maier to end the inning.
Toronto, which improved to 32-27 and 5-4 on its homestand, jumped on Royals starter and losing pitcher Kyle Davies (2-6) early and often.
After Vernon Wells plated Hill on a sacrifice fly in the first inning, Overbay drilled a Davies fastball off Windows restaurant in centre-field to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
Hill made it 4-0 Blue Jays in the third inning, ending an 0-for-25 funk with his 13th home run of the season. The second baseman was also hit by a pitch, walked and scored two runs.
The slump was the worst by a Blue Jays player since Troy Glaus went hitless in 27 at-bats in 2007.
Toronto third baseman Scott Rolen was held out of the lineup for a second straight day with a sore back.
The Blue Jays open a four-game series at Texas on Monday at 8:05 p.m. ET, with Casey Janssen (1-2) opposing Scott Feldman (5-0).
With files from the Canadian Press
