October 6, 2010: At Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay throws the 2nd no-hitter in postseason history, and becomes the 1st National League hurler to throw one. He had also thrown a no-hitter in this year's regular season, so he becomes the 1st pitcher to throw a no-hitter in both the regular season and the postseason, ever, let alone in the same season. The Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-0, in Game 1 of the NL Division Series.
It's nearly a perfect game: He walked Jay Bruce in the 5th inning, but that was the only baserunner he allowed. His teammates made no errors. They gave him a run in the bottom of the 1st inning, on a sacrifice fly by Chase Utley; and 3 in the 2nd, including his own RBI single.
Halladay had gone 148-76 and the 2003 American League Cy Young Award with the Toronto Blue Jays, but had never pitched in the postseason. After the 2009 season, the Jays traded him to the Phils for 3 players, and he went 55-29 for them, helping them win the NL Eastern Division in 2010 and 2011, and winning another Cy Young in 2011. So this game wasn't just his 2nd no-hitter, it was the 1st postseason game in which he'd ever played.
An injury ended his career at the age of 36, and a plane crash ended his life at 40. With a career record of 203-105, an ERA of 3.38, an ERA+ of 131, and a WHIP of 1.178, he was probably headed for the Baseball Hall of Fame, anyway. His early death may have led to a sympathy vote that won him election in 2019, his 1st year of eligibility.
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October 6, 2010 was a Wednesday. There were 2 other Playoff series opening that day, both in the AL. The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-4. It was the 1st postseason game played at the Twins' new Target Field in Minneapolis. CC Sabathia was the winning pitcher. Mark Teixeira hit a home run. Derek Jeter went 1-for-5. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a walk.
In the other game, the Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Cliff Lee, the previous year's big pitching acquisition for the Phillies, was the winning pitcher for the Rangers, who went on to win their 1st Pennant.
There were no other games: Football was in midweek, the NHL season started the next day, and the NBA season started 20 days later.
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