Halladay

IP   H    R    BB    K    OPP. BA    First two starts 71/3 12 12 6 12 .353 Last three starts 21 8 4 5 16 .118

When a surgeon removed one of Mike Adams' ribs last winter, the pitcher finally felt at ease. His right arm, which could once throw a fastball at an average of 93 m.p.h., was no longer numb. The Phillies paid him $12 million to provide stability in the eighth inning. Then a 5-3 Phillies loss to Pittsburgh happened Wednesday, and it resembled the nightmares of a season ago for both pitcher and team. Adams could barely top 91 m.p.h. He never looked comfortable during the span of four batters, all of whom reached base.

After he threw 109 pitches Friday, Roy Halladay declared it "was about as close as I've felt to where I want to be. " Halladay has made four starts in 2013 and the evolution has been constant. That was more than evident in Halladay's pitch selection. He relied on his sinker more than ever while with the Phillies. Against St. Louis, Halladay threw his sinker 50 times, according to Pitch F/X data. Research by ESPN Stats & Info showed it was the most frequently Halladay has used his sinker in a game since the beginning of 2009.

WITH A RUNNER on base and two outs in the seventh inning, a large portion of the 45,092 people at Citizens Bank Park rose from their seats and let out a hearty applause. Since the news had just broke in Boston that one of the Boston Marathon bombers had been caught, one observer did a quick sweep of the ballpark with his eyes to see whether it had been announced on a video screen at the ballpark. But, no, this wasn't about the manhunt that had almost all of America glued to its televisions from the early morning until after sunset.

It's amazing what a revived Roy Halladay and the ability to earn a free pass can do for the Phillies' fortunes. Halladay was effective for the second straight game, and the Phillies drew their first walk since Sunday during Friday's 8-2, seven-inning, rain-shortened win over the St. Louis Cardinals before 34,092 at Citizens Bank Park. Halladay allowed just two hits - solo home runs to Carlos Beltran in the second inning and Matt Holliday in the seventh. While he appeared to labor in the seventh inning, when he threw 26 pitches, Halladay didn't lose his velocity, with his fastball remaining in the 89-92-m.p.h.

MIAMI - When Laynce Nix swung to secure the 200th victory of Roy Halladay's storied career, the pitcher did not immediately see it. Halladay delivered eight satisfying innings Sunday, and while there was temptation to stay in the dugout as his teammates batted, he stuck to the plan. Halladay retreated to a back room and started his arm exercises. The game is shown with a slight delay inside the visitors clubhouse at Marlins Park. Halladay heard yelling from another room. He caught a glimpse of a TV just in time for Nix's ninth-inning solo home run. Phillies 2, Marlins 1, and 200 for Halladay.

MIAMI - The two longest-tenured players in the visiting clubhouse at Marlins Park toasted Roy Halladay with a magnum-sized champagne bottle that included a congratulatory inscription and photos of the pitcher, too. After Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley were through, the soft-spoken Halladay had a chance to talk but stayed in character. He smiled, thanked them and said he'd rather have a World Series than a celebration for his 200th career win. "The personal milestones are great," Halladay said on Sunday, when he threw eight sharp innings in a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins.

And so we have arrived at another Roy Halladay start. At some point, his outings will cease receiving so much scrutiny and the hackneyed expression "it is what it is" will rule the day. Exactly how this developing story is going to end remains to be seen, but history suggests it is not going to end well for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. Oddly, this start Sunday afternoon against the Miami Marlins will be a bit of a defining one for the 35-year-old pitcher who threw a perfect game against the same franchise in 2010.

Brad Lidge announced his retirement during spring training and is pursuing a master's degree in archaeology from the University of Leicester in England. "It's a distance [online] program," Lidge said by phone from his home in Boulder, Colo. During the latter stages of his career with the Phillies, Lidge earned a degree in digging for answers when the life leaves your right arm, the same difficult course that two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay is trying to navigate now. "I think the greatest challenge, which is also the most frustrating part, is the length of time it takes to figure out what to do and how to get hitters out when you're not using Plan A anymore," Lidge said Saturday by phone from Boulder.