PHILADELPHIA — Roy Halladay spent his whole career waiting for this start, wondering what it would be like to pitch in the playoffs.
It was better than he – or anyone else – could have predicted.
Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history, leading the Philadelphia Phillies over the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 in Game 1 of the NL division series on Wednesday.
"It's surreal, it really is," Halladay said. "I just wanted to pitch here, to pitch in the postseason. To go out and have a game like that, it's a dream come true."
Don Larsen is the only other pitcher to throw a postseason no-hitter. He tossed a perfect game for the New York Yankees in the 1956 World Series against Brooklyn. The 54th anniversary of Larsen's gem is this Friday.
Halladay took the Year of the Pitcher into October. The excitement spread beyond Citizens Bank Park – the last two outs were shown on the video board at Target Field, where the Twins were preparing to play the Yankees, and Minnesota fans cheered.
The All-Star right-hander, who threw a perfect game at Florida on May 29, dominated the Reds with a sharp fastball and a devastating slow curve in his first playoff start.
The overmatched Reds never came close to a hit. Halladay allowed only one runner, walking Jay Bruce on a full count with two outs in the fifth, and struck out eight.
"To get a no-hitter in this fashion, in your first postseason game, you've got to put it right up there," Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard said.
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