Miami, FL – Pinch-hitter Laynce Nix hit a solo homer in the ninth inning and Roy Halladay pitched eight solid frames, as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins, 2-1, in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Halladay (1-2), who has never dropped three straight starts to open a season, gave up one run on five hits to nail down career win No. 200. The right-hander saw his ERA drop from 14.73 to 7.63.
"I had been putting a lot of pressure on myself," Halladay said. "My plan the whole week was to worry about the game and not worry about what was going on internally."
Michael Young had an RBI for the Phillies, who improved to 6-6 on the young season.
Miami starter Kevin Slowey allowed one runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. Jon Rauch (0-2) gave up the homer to Nix to take the loss.
Chris Valaika knocked in the lone run for the Marlins, who fell to 2-10.
"We've battled every game," Slowey said. "I think our record may be a little misleading."
Each team failed to score with runners in scoring position early on. Miami stranded a runner on third in the second. Former Phillie Greg Dobbs led off with a double down the right-field line and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. However, Rob Brantly popped out and Valaika flied out to keep it a scoreless game.
The Marlins left a runner on second during their next at-bat. Adeiny Hechavarria singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. This time around, Juan Pierre fouled out and Chris Coghlan grounded out.
Philadelphia, which stranded the bases loaded in the fifth, broke a scoreless tie in the sixth. Ryan Howard started things off with a double to left and raced home on Young's single up the middle, which deflected off a diving Hechavarria.
The Marlins finally got to Halladay in the seventh. With one out, Justin Ruggiano singled and Brantly walked. Valaika followed with an RBI single to left. Hechavarria flied into a double play to keep it a 1-1 game.
In the ninth, Nix smacked Rauch's offering into the upper deck in right to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.
Jonathan Papelbon held Miami scoreless in the bottom half to pick up his third save of the season.
Game Notes
Halladay, who improved to 8-4 lifetime against the Marlins, became just the 109th pitcher in MLB history to collect 200-or-more career wins ... Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis took a pitch off his right hand in the top of the ninth ... Marlins outfielder Austin Kearns was a late scratch due to an irregular heartbeat. He was taken to the hospital for further evaluation ... Miami's Giancarlo Stanton missed his third straight game with a left shoulder injury ... Philadelphia went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 ... The Marlins went 1-for-6 with RISP and left five men on base.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.