Doc suffers heat exhaustion, first loss in two months

Roy Halladay is human. Who knew?

Typically, Charlie Manuel has to hogtie Halladay and drag him from the mound to remove him from a game. Last night, Doc removed himself.

After struggling with the heat all night, it finally got the best of him in the fifth, trailing 3-1. Halladay was suffering from heat exhaustion and the Phils had to make an early call to the pen.

Halladay took the loss  in the 6-1 defeat, but more importantly he is fine and intends to make his next start. Last night was a struggle for him though.

"He was hot and dizzy," Manuel said. "You could tell in that third inning. He was kind of gasping for air. He was really sweating."

It's disappointing that the offense wasn't able to help out on such a brutally hot and humid night. After all, the Cubs had Rodrigo Lopez on the mound. Lopez's career ERA against the Phils was close to six. He has a career ERA of 4.81, and sported a 5.70 ERA during his tenure with the Phillies in 2009. Basically, he's hittable.
The Phillies managed just one run on five hits against Lopez in 6.2 innings. The lone run coming on Jimmy Rollins' ninth home run of the year.

The Phillies are 2-2 after the all-star break, losing games started by all-stars Cole Hamels and Halladay, and winning games started by Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick. Another all-star takes the mound tonight. Can Cliff Lee reverse the trend?

He may have extra enforcements backing him up tonight. Shane Victorino is expected to be activated prior to tonight's game, and could be in the lineup. Meanwhile, Placido Polanco is not getting better and he requested a cortisone shot in his back. He'd been trying to avoid the shot, because he had four last season, but he's still in considerable pain. He's eligible to come off the DL tomorrow, which clearly will not happen.

Phils fans have a reason to be hopeful that a roster move is coming. Manuel told Ruben Amaro Jr. that he wants a big right handed bat and a relief pitcher. Here's some of what he said to reporters:

"I want somebody good. If we're going to get somebody, I want somebody good. I want somebody that's going to help us. I don't want to get what we've already got. I always think big. There's some guys out there."

Music to all of our ears for sure. Yes, it will be difficult with the team very close to the luxury tax, but they've surprised us before. And with names like Hunter Pence and Carlos Beltran floating around, well, we can all hope.