Phillies' Halladay throws no-hitter in NLDS Game 1

PHILADELPHIA - Roy Halladay waited 13 years to throw his first pitch in the playoffs. When he finally got that opportunity Wednesday, the Cincinnati Reds had no chance.

Halladay threw a no-hitter in Game 1 of the National League Division Series to join Don Larsen as the only pitchers in history to accomplish the feat during the postseason. If not for a fifth-inning walk to Jay Bruce with two outs, Halladay would have been perfect as well in the Phillies' 4-0 victory before a crowd of 46,411 at Citizens Bank Park.

"It was complete domination," Reds leftfielder Jonny Gomes said.

Halladay, who threw a perfect game against the Marlins on May 29, was as efficient as he was brilliant - 79 of his 104 pitches were strikes. The Reds looked clueless at the plate and had only four fly balls that even reached the outfield. Halladay helped his own cause with a run-scoring single in the Phillies' three-run second inning, which was way more than what he would need.

"He didn't miss, he didn't make any mistakes," Bruce said. "He wasn't nibbling, and he has that ability because his ball moves so much."

Halladay struck out eight, and four of five before his walk to Bruce on a full count. The most difficult defensive play of the entire game was the final out, when Brandon Phillips hit a tapper in front of the plate. With the speedy leadoff hitter hustling down the line, catcher Carlos Ruiz had to scoop the ball away from the fallen bat and throw over Phillips' left shoulder for the last out.

"He did his job and we didn't do ours," Phillips said. Asked what made Halladay so great, Phillips replied, "I don't know. He just pitched the ball and we didn't hit it."

Larsen threw his perfect game for the Yankees in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The last Phillies pitcher to even throw a shutout in the playoffs was Curt Schilling, who did it against the Blue Jays in Game 5 of the 1993 World Series.

Halladay, the NL Cy Young favorite, went 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA during the regular season with a 5-0 mark and 3.50 ERA in September. For the Reds, making their first playoff appearance since 1995, it was a demoralizing start to the Division Series.

"Luckily he's not pitching the next game or the following game, then we have a chance," Gomes said. As for what they can do better, Gomes said, "We can start by getting some hits."