Like so many other combinations Manuel has tried in May, this one failed to provide an offensive explosion. Thanks to Cliff Lee's lively left arm, however, it produced a victory. The Phillies won a second consecutive interleague matchup with the Texas Rangers, beating Lee's former team, 2-0, at Citizens Bank Park.
The end to Ryan Howard's 0-for-23 slump was by far the best offensive news for the Phillies. Howard addressed his tumbling batting average before the game and sounded confident that he was close to escaping the worst slump of his career.
"I'm on the verge of switching around and hitting righthanded," he said, showing that his sense of humor remained intact. "You're even-keel about it. I'm not going to lie and say it's not frustrating. It's tough, because you go out there and sometimes you're trying to look for a break. I hit a couple of balls [Friday night] and a couple of balls in the Rockies series that for anybody else, those would have been hits."
Howard was referring to the overshift defense he encounters almost every time he goes to the plate, but he found the best way to beat it in the bottom of the second inning.
After being left at home plate in the bottom of the first when Brown was thrown out trying to steal second base for the final out, Howard led off the second by launching a 1-1 fastball from Colby Lewis into the right-field seats, giving Lee the only run he would need to pick up his first win in seven starts since an April 14 game against Washington.
"That felt better," Howard said afterward. "I had a couple of hits tonight, and I just missed the last ball [in the eighth inning]. It's always frustrating going through something like that. I was asked how much video do I watch or 'How much work were you trying to do?' Obviously, you try to put in the work, but sometimes you have to just step back and let things happen."
