By Matt Snyder

What is it with Roy Halladay and the first inning? Last time he took the hill was Game 1 of the NLDS, and he allowed a three-run home run to Lance Berkman in the first inning before turning into an absolute maestro. Now, in the first inning of Friday's do-or-die Game 5, Halladay gave up a triple and double to start the game. Since then? A catcher's interference and seeing-eye, ground-ball single. And 12 outs.

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During the regular season, Halladay's first inning ERA was 3.66. In no other inning until the ninth inning did he have an ERA of worse than 2.81, and he sported an ERA of less than 1.70 in the second, third, sixth and eighth innings.

Should the Phillies advance, that's a situation worth following -- that the Brewers better get him in the first, lest he shut them down the rest of the way. But as things stood through four innings Friday night, the Phillies hadn't been able to score a run off Chris Carpenter, as the score was 1-0 Cardinals.

Things are far from over, though, so remember to ... Click here to follow the action live on CBSSports.com's GameTracker

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