Notes From The Phillies’ 6-3 Win Over Colorado

The Philadelphia Phillies won their game against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night 6-3. Their record improves to 23-27.

• Roberto Hernandez pitched 5.2 innings, and allowed two runs on six hits and five walks.
• Ryan Howard returned to the lineup after a night off and turned in another big performance, going 2-4 with four RBI’s. Howard supplied a walk-off game-winning three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, and singled home a run to put the Phillies on the board in the third.
• Chase Utley went 2-5 with another double and an RBI.
• Marlon Byrd snapped out of his short slump, going 2-3 with a walk and an RBI.
• Carlos Ruiz and Cesar Hernandez each went 0-4 at the bottom of the order.
• Hernandez’s average has dropped to just .132.
• Antonio Bastardo got the final out in the sixth inning.
• Mike Adams pitched a scoreless seventh.
• Jake Diekman allowed a run on three his in the eighth.
• Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth, and earned his first win of the season.

Final Thoughts

Ryan Howard is locked in right now.

The Big Piece has supplied the team with nine RBI’s over the last two games, and has been absolutely critical in each of their wins.

These are the performances that the Phillies needed from Howard all year. They need him to the be their power threat and their run producer in the middle of their order.

Of course, consistency is always the issue here. Howard will have big moments every now and then, but he’ll also have prolonged periods where he’s barely able to produce any runs at all. Those slumps where he’s ineffective really drag this team down. The Phillies just have to hop that he can stay hot and carry them to at least another victory or two in the coming days.