Davidoff: Dominant Halladay serves Mets a reality checkmate

PHILADELPHIA

Hot weather, a defeated opponent, about 28 more regular-season starts to go and 100 pitches through seven innings. With Roy Halladay on the mound Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, Charlie Manuel had ample reason to lift his ace and hand over a 10-run lead to a reliever.

Except, you know, this is Roy Halladay about whom we're talking. "I was trying to avoid him," Halladay said of his manager while smiling.

The Mets' eight-game winning streak is history now, buried by the most likely suspect. Halladay, expending 118 pitches to record his second shutout in three starts, couldn't have made a stronger introduction to the Mets-Phillies rivalry.

"He's one of the best in the game," David Wright told reporters after the Mets fell, 10-0. "You put him with that offense and I'm sure he's going to win a lot of games.

"He wants to finish what he starts, and he finds ways to do it. So he's as good as advertised, and we know every time we face him, it's going to be a battle."

We received a delightful pitching matchup of Halladay, perhaps the game's best pitcher, against the Mets' Mike Pelfrey, the young gunslinger on the run of his life. They exchanged zeroes for three innings, but when Mets infielders Jose Reyes (on Chase Utley) and Alex Cora (on Jayson Werth) failed to make good plays on a tricky soft liner and a flare, respectively, the Phillies' offense exploded with a six-run fourth.

And from there, Halladay limited the Mets to two baserunners, on no hits. The Mets managed just three hits prior to that, and drew one walk in the game against three strikeouts. Halladay lived up to his role of hard-throwing, bullpen-saving, losing-streak stopper.

It's a role to which the Yankees grew accustomed. Except that Halladay's Blue Jays never posed a serious threat. Now, much to the Mets' chagrin, Halladay has talented friends.

"It's good to have those kinds of guys," Manuel said. "You'd like to have about 12 of those. That would be pretty good, wouldn't it?"

Manuel said he didn't seriously consider lifting Halladay, despite the unseasonably warm first-pitch temperature of 88 degrees. "We were watching him," Manuel explained. "There's not a lot of difference between 105 pitches and 120. People might say it is, but it's not."

Given the game's blowout nature, and given that it's Halladay, we'll let Manuel have this one. The Phillies had lost four of five, including Friday night's 9-1 Mets romp. Their ace provided a needed salve.

He came to the Phillies because he wanted playoff action and playoff atmosphere. Saturday provided the latter, at least.

"That's the great thing about playing here," Halladay said. "I think with the fans and everything else, every game feels that way."

The always forthcoming Manuel said afterward, "I'm concerned about our pitching, really."

The other four spots in Philadelphia's rotation, including Cole Hamels, have been shaky. Sunday night, 47-year-old Jamie Moyer will try to make it a two-game winning streak, while the Mets go with ace Johan Santana.

You might recall that back in spring training, a reporter asked Santana whom he considered to be the best pitcher in the National League East. "Santana," the lefty responded. Halladay cited Lou Holtz in responding, "Well done is always more important than well said."

Saturday met Halladay's "well done" standard, completely. The Mets can still dream about doing great things this season, but Halladay reminded them that it won't be a fantasy.