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Halladay continues torrid start, hurls complete game

May 1, 2007 - 3:45 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Roy Halladay made quick work of the Texas Rangers.

Halladay pitched a complete game as the Toronto Blue Jays posted a 6-1 victory over the Rangers on Monday to gain a split of the four-game series.

The former Cy Young Award winner pitched his second complete game of the season in the quickest game of the year for both teams, at 2 hours, 2 minutes.

The righthander, who was coming off a 10-strikeout performance against Boston on Tuesday, was dominant, retiring 18 of 19 after allowing a first-inning RBI double to Sammy Sosa down the left field line that scored Kenny Lofton.

"I was getting ahead of guys and getting them out," said Halladay, who recorded his 26th career complete game to move into sole possession of sixth place on the Blue Jays' all-time list.

Halladay (4-0) threw 80 of 110 pitches for strikes and allowed one run and five hits with eight strikeouts. He did not walk a batter.

"Throwing first-pitch strikes allows you to do more and be more aggressive," he said. "It's always important to get outs as soon as possible and not waste pitches, especially against an agressive team like Texas."

Appropriately enough, Halladay ended the game by striking out Sosa, the one batter he made a mistake to, on a wicked breaking ball.

"He shut down a good hitting team and that's not an easy thing to do," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He's like all the great ones in this league, you give him a little lead and he's awfully tough to come back on."

Texas manager Ron Washington knew it was going to be a tough night when his club fell behind Halladay early.

"You give (Halladay) a lead and he rushes to the finish line," Washington said. "He was nasty. That's why he's Roy Halladay, Cy Young winner."

In starting 4-0 for only the second time in his career, the 29-year-old has not allowed more than three runs in any of his six starts. Halladay, who threw his first complete game of the season in a 10-inning affair on April 13 vs. Detroit, started 4-0 in 2002 as well.

Troy Glaus had two RBI, including a leadof homer - his third of the season - that tied the game at 1-1 in the second inning for the Blue Jays, who have won five of seven. After an infield single by Matt Stairs, Aaron Hill followed with a two-run homer to give the Toronto a 3-1 lead, which was all Halladay needed.

"I was just trying to get back in the swing of things," said Glaus, who returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing 14 games with a bone spur in his left heel.

"When (Halladay's) pitching he generally doesn't need a lot of help, but we try to score as many as we can for him. He pitched a gem tonight as he usually does."

Adam Lind, who had five extra-base hits in the series, hit his third homer in the last four games. It was a solo shot in the seventh that stretched the lead to 4-1, and the Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the eighth on a RBI single by Glaus and a sacrifice fly by Hill.

The Blue Jays were without All-Star center fielder Vernon Wells, who sat out the game with flu-like symptoms. Toronto shuffled its outfield by moving Alex Rios to center and playing Matt Stairs in right field.