Ryan Howard’s second grand slam of the season fueled the Phillies to a 6-1 lead, which was your final — the Phillies, behind Joe Blanton’s gutsy and good start, defeated the Cardinals to improve to 13-10.
Howard’s blast opened up a close game where Blanton originally was down, 1-0. A Joe Thurston double scored Kyle Lohse, who Blanton hit with a pitch. But Jayson Werth gave the Phils the lead with a two-run home run, and the good guys never looked back.
Lohse, meanwhile, got in trouble in the fifth, when Howard made his mark. The former Phillie gave up a hit to Jimmy Rollins, then surrendered another hit to Shane Victorino and plunked Chase Utley. Howard sat on the 1-1 count, launching one to right-center field.
Blanton had better command of his fastball, locating it low while keeping hitters off balance with his breaking stuff. After some trouble in the sixth (ending via a clutch strikeout and groundout), Blanton exited. Scott Eyre, Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin pitched scoreless innings to close it out.
A final note: Rick Ankiel’s catch on a Pedro Feliz fly ball sent him slamming into the outfield wall. He fell hard to the ground and left the game 10 minutes later via stretcher. Our thoughts are with him.
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