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| Heat Exhaustion |
Cubs fans have nightmares every night. Some of them involve a Billy goat, some have Steve Bartman, others have Milton Bradley’s free agent signing press conference.
Phillies fans – many who have endured watching a team with a losing legacy that has often rivaled that of the Cubs – have had their own nightmares.
But thankfully for them – and for Charlie Manuel, Ruben Amaro Jr. and company, too – the site of Roy Halladay walking off the mound with trainer Mark Andersen in tow was nothing but a brief, startling scare.
Halladay was uninjured. But the 34-year-old was a victim of an oppressive heat that has taken hold of the Midwest, including a Miami-feeling Windy City.
The stifling humidity in Chicago cost the Phillies the services of their top pitcher in a 6-1 loss to the Cubs on Monday night. Halladay, who changed out of a sweat-soaked uniform in between the third and fourth inning, walked off the mound after allowing a single to lead off the fifth.
It was the shortest start of his 53 games with the Phillies. It also snapped a historic stretch of Halladay starts.
Entering Monday, Halladay had gone six or more innings in 63 consecutive road starts. It was the longest such streak since Hall of Famer Walter Johnson reeled off 82 straight from 1911 to 1915.
Making his first start since taking the mound for the National League in the All-Star Game a week ago, Halladay look uncomfortable from the start. At first pitch, the temperature was 91 degrees.
Two hours later, long after the sun had gone down, it was 86 degrees. But mix in the humidity, and according to weather.com, it felt like 96 degrees.
Halladay has made his share of starts in uncomfortably hot places like Atlanta and Miami. On Memorial Day in Washington, he took the mound on an afternoon when it was 92 at first pitch.
Halladay again relied on a uniform change and a healthy amount of pedialyte to get through the heat on that day.
But even a breeze of Lake Michigan couldn’t provide Halladay with any relief Monday. He was red-faced and drenched in sweat not longer after Aramis Ramirez hit a solo home run with two outs in the first inning.
The heat clearly took its toll on Halladay two innings later. He needed 31 pitches to get through a third inning that saw the Cubs score twice.
After Starlin Castro led off the fifth inning with the Cubs’ seventh hit off him, Halladay walked toward the back of the mound. He tried to take a deep breath.
After Carlos Ruiz trotted out to check on Halladay, pitching coach Rich Dubee and Andersen quickly followed suit. After throwing 68 pitches, Halladay was finished.
Like their starting pitcher, the Phils offense was stuck in the sticky, oppressive heat. Jimmy Rollins’ solo home run to lead off the fourth accounted for the Phillies only run.
