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Homers Back Blanton’s First Phils Win

The longball came in handy Saturday night against the Cardinals, pacing the Phillies to a 2-1 win at Busch Stadium II. A Marlins win keeps them within 1.5 games back; a late Mets loss puts them two back.

Greg Dobbs and Ryan Howard homered for the Phils, giving Joe Blanton the offense he needed to grab a victory. The new Phillie ate seven innings, striking out five and giving up just four hits. He benefited from a wider strike zone by home plate umpire Marty Foster, but also pitched pretty well as is. He contained Albert Pujols and Troy Glaus, giving up just a homer by Ryan Ludwick, who’s been on a tear lately.

The bullpen nailed it down yet again. The dynamic duo of JC Romero and Chad Durbin did it in the eighth, with the latter inducing a double play ball to end the inning. Brad Lidge shook off the ridiculous Pujols talk and got him out, then defused the Cards quickly for his 27th save in as many chances.

Offensively it wasn’t a dream game. The Phils didn’t hit Braden Looper much at all. Howard continued his ridiculous success off the right-hander (4-for-5, 4 HR), while Dobbs improved his lefty-righty splits even more. Everything else â€” wasn’t much else. Two other hits in the game total. Not a good day for the offense.

But this is how you draw it up with pitching. Your starter goes seven. Your setup men (a lefty and righty) take turns holding the lead in the eighth. Your shutdown closer gets it done in the ninth. And for this night, the Blanton acquisition looked freakin’ brilliant. One hopes this formula continues down the stretch.

Associated Press photo

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.