Phillies 4, Marlins 1
PHILADELPHIA - Hot-hitting Ryan Howard went 2-for-3 with his second home run in as many days Friday, as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 4-1.
Domonic Brown also homered for the second straight day and Chase Utley went deep as well for the Phillies, who won for the fifth time in seven games.
Utley now has six homers this season, while Howard and Brown have five apiece. Four of Howard's homers have come in his last nine games, as have 12 of his 18 RBIs. He is also hitting .342 in his last 19 games, raising his average to .288.
Rookie right-hander Jonathan Pettibone (2-0) went 6 1/3 innings for the victory, allowing five hits and one run. Pettibone struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Reliever Antonio Bastardo issued two walks to load the bases with one out in the seventh, but struck out pinch hitters Austin Kearns and Matt Diaz to escape trouble.
Mike Adams pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam in the eighth, and Jonathan Papelbon worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save in as many opportunities.
Ricky Nolasco (2-3) took the loss for the Marlins, allowing eight hits and four runs over seven innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Donovan Solano hit his first homer of the season for Miami, which is now 8-22. The Marlins began the day tied with Houston for the worst record in baseball.
Howard ripped a 2-0 fastball from Nolasco for his homer in the second, and later in the inning Ben Revere singled home Carlos Ruiz to make the score 2-0.
Utley's homer came on the first pitch of the third inning, another fastball. After Solano homered in the top of the fourth, Brown made the score 4-1 when he launched a 3-2 slider into the right-field seats to start the bottom of the inning.
NOTES: Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay told reporters before the game that MLB Network commentator Mitch Williams, a former Phillies closer, was "completely out of line" in criticizing pitching coach Rich Dubee. Williams had said during a radio interview earlier in the day that Dubee should have recognized flaws in Halladay's delivery, and went so far as to suggest Dubee should be fired. ... The Phillies named Cesar Hernandez, a second baseman at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the organization's Minor League Player of the Month, and Jesse Biddle, a lefty at Double-A Reading, the Minor League Pitcher of the Month. Biddle, the team's top prospect, went 2-1 with a 1.74 ERA in five starts, while Hernandez hit .375. ... Solano entered Friday's game having hit .310 since April 17, highest batting average among major league second basemen.
