Halladay leaves Phillies for personal reasons
ATLANTA — After blowing a six-run lead Wednesday night, Roy Halladay left the Phillies to tend to a personal family matter. He is expected to rejoin the team Friday in Washington.
Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said Halladay told both manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee on Tuesday he would need to leave. It was not a decision he made immediately following the poor outing.
After addressing reporters late Wednesday night following the 15-13 loss, Halladay left Turner Field with a small rolling suitcase. The righthander said he was physically fine although his face turned bright red as he labored through the final two innings.
"Honestly, I felt good," Halladay said. "There were some pitches with guys on that I didn't execute. It had nothing to do with anything else. I wish I had a better reason for you, but I don't. It was just a lack of executing pitches in key situations. That's what cost me."
Halladay required only 46 pitches to complete the game's first four innings. It turned sour in the fifth. What happened?
"I don't know, man," catcher Carlos Ruiz said Thursday. "Everything happened real quick. He made good pitches but I give credit to their hitters. They were looking for the pitches he threw. They didn't miss them. Everything happened real quick."
Before the shocking fifth, Halladay had not allowed six runs in one inning since May 10, 2007.
"Early, his breaking balls were working," Ruiz said. "They started looking off-speed. I don't know. Hard to say."
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