Brown bails out Papelbon after blown save
PHILADELPHIA — His power pace at a career low, his knee and ankle still reminding him daily that he’s not completely healthy, Ryan Howard had nonetheless started to stir of late.
A home run had eluded him since May 29, and he’d only had seven of them all season. Yet Phils manager Charlie Manuel noted that during the club’s 3-7 road trip, Howard had stung a few pitches. It was just that he didn’t get under any of them.
Not to worry, Manuel said. He’d seen Howard get a few balls up in the air over the years.
Monday night, Manuel and the Phillies
didn’t have to wait long to see it again. In Howard’s first at-bat, he crushed a high offering from Washington Nationals starter Dan Haren, kick-starting the Phillies to what would be a 5-4 victory, and hopefully for Howard starting something else.
The Phillies need to see him hit a lot more balls in the air.
Almost as significantly, Howard added a two-out, RBI single in the fifth inning, which posted the Phils with a two-run lead at the time. He added another single to start the eighth, finishing a 3-for-3 (with a walk) night.
Former Nationals ace John Lannan, just activated off the disabled list, made his first start since April 17 and would go five innings, faring well enough to get his first victory as a Phillie.
Except that he didn’t get the victory.
Lannan was undone just as closer Jonathan Papelbon was by Chad Tracy’s unlikely home run to right on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning that tied the game. But in the bottom of the ninth, Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins singled, and with one out pinch-hitter Steven Lerud ... struck out.
But Domonic Brown, that guy who was hot before the Phillies started that awful road trip, won it with a two-out liner to center off Nats reliever Fernando Abad. Not so Abad. Ah, but Lannan’s start was less than impressive, as he issued a walk to second hitter Anthony Rendon, then hit Ryan Zimmerman with a pitch. Jayson Werth’s RBI single then made it a 1-0 Nationals lead before Lannan escaped via a double play.
Howard’s homer got the game even, then the Phils scored twice in the third inning. Michael Young tripled, and Haren walked both Rol- lins and Howard to load the bases.
With two outs, Delmon Young sliced a drive to right that fell in for a two-run double and a 3-1 lead.
The Nats got one back in the fourth on consecutive doubles by Kurt Suzuki and Steve Lombardozzi. But Howard padded the lead again with his RBI single. Michael Stutes was strong in relief for the Phils (34-37) until Desmond ended his stay with an RBI single in the eighth that brought the Nats to within 4-3.
Howard’s rally cry in the bottom of that inning went unheeded by his teammates, as Laynce Nix struck out with the bases loaded. That left it in the hands of Papelbon, who promptly blew his first.
Papelbon was cruising along with two outs and an two-strike count to .138 hitter Tracy, and he put the next pitch in the stands just inside the right-field foul pole for 4-4. The disappointment wouldn’t last long.
After all, Howard might be getting his groove back.