Halladay cruises by his old team

PHILADELPHIA — It was what Roy Halladay needed, and not just from a pitching standpoint, but from and offensive standpoint as well.

Halladay, who had lost his last three starts, had gotten virtually no run support of late. In his last eight starts (two wins, five losses), the offense had been averaging just 1.88 runs per game for him.

Friday was a welcomed change.

The Phillies, playing as the visitors and with a designated hitter to accommodate the scheduling change, finally backed up Halladay, and Halladay finally won another game.

On Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies pummeled the Blue Jays 9-0, and Halladay won for the first time since June 4.

It was the first time the Phillies scored more than three runs in a Halladay start since they beat the Cardinals 7-2 on May 6.

And for the second game in a row, the Phillies offense pounded the ball consistently without relying on the long ball.

Against the Indians on Thursday, the Phils had 15 hits and scored 12 runs; Dane Sardinha hit the Phillies' only home run, which was a solo shot.

On Friday, Shane Victorino was the only Phillie to go yard. His was also a solo home run that came in the eighth inning.

The Phillies gave the Blue Jays a knock-put punch in the sixth when they sent 10 batters to the plate en route to scoring six runs and taking an 8-0 lead. Ross Gload, starting at first base for the first time this season, provided the big blow with a three-run double. Combine that with his RBI single in the second and he tied his single-game career-high with four RBIs.

Chase Utley and Ryan Howard also got in on the action. Utley drove in a pair of runs with a base hit, and Howard contributed with a run-scoring single.

Jayson Werth, who came into the game hitting .395 in his last 12 games after batting .073 in his previous 12 contests, stayed hot Friday. He was 2-for-3 with a triple (his first since April 2009), three runs scored and two walks.

Halladay pitched seven shutout innings, allowed six hits and one walk, a significant upgrade over his last three starts in which he was 0-3 with a 4.09 ERA.

Jose Contreras and Dave Herndon pitched the last two innings and faced the minimum to keep the shutout in tact.

Jimmy Rollins walked four times, a first since he did so on July 2, 2004.

Placido Polanco hit into three double plays.

amanda.housenick@mcall.com

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