For everyone who has been criticizing Ryan Howard's play this season, you can stop now. Yes, he strikes out too much. Yes, he isn't going to hit for a high average. But, man, is he destroying the ball right now. He was the offense today, hitting his major-league leading 26th and 27th homers today to lead the Phillies over the Cardinals, 4-1. Howard had 3 RBIs to increase his Phillie record for ribbies before the all-star break to a league-leading 83. He's also hitting .234, a 30 point increase over his average a month ago. In the month of July, Howard now has 7 homers in 10 games. In short, while the rest of the Phillie line-up continues to scuffle, Howard continues to tear the cover off of the ball and keep the Phillies atop the NL East.
Jamie Moyer put together a quality start, scattering 7 hits in 7 innings, giving up only one run. Ryan Madsen and J.C. Romero combined to close out the game, giving Brad Lidge a day off.
The Phillies got a nice series win, taking 2 out of 3 from the Cardinals. The Phillies will close out the first half of the season with a three game series with the Diamondbacks that begins tomorrow.
Highlights of the game, including Howard's homers and Chase Utley's great defensive play in the 1st, from ESPNEWS:
The haters won't stop bashing Howard. Once Philly fans decide to sink their teeth into a player, they don't ever fully let go. Even Pat still gets heavily criticized, and he has done more than enough to deflect attacks on his play. Howard can lead in HR and RBI, and help Philly win a WS, and people will still only talk about the K's. A lot of Philly fans pass off being @$$holes as being "passionate fans", and it gets real old.
(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)
The haters won't stop bashing Howard. Once Philly fans decide to sink their teeth into a player, they don't ever fully let go. Even Pat still gets heavily criticized, and he has done more than enough to deflect attacks on his play. Howard can lead in HR and RBI, and help Philly win a WS, and people will still only talk about the K's. A lot of Philly fans pass off being @$$holes as being "passionate fans", and it gets real old.
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