PHILADELPHIA — Seeing
Ryan Howard start the Phillies' sixth inning with
a double off Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, Pat
Burrell walked up to the plate on a mission.
“He was going to move the runner over,”
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “I heard
him say it when he left the dugout.”
Burrell did the job ... and more.
Burrell hit a rope to right field that fell in for an
RBI double and the Phillies had the lead for good in
what became a 5-3 victory that opened their nine-game
homestand on a high note.
“With nobody out, you've got to try to get
(Howard) over,” said Burrell, who had another
gigantic hit in the fourth inning, a two-run home run
into the left-field seats that tied the game at 2.
“You've got to try to do the little things. A lot
of times I have a hard time doing that. Fortunately,
today it worked out.”
Burrell's double gave his team a 4-3 lead and snapped a
streak in which the Phils were 0-for-21 with runners in
scoring position since the second inning of Wednesday's
loss in New York.
“We haven't been scoring a lot,” Burrell
said. “I've had plenty of opportunities in the
last few games and haven't been able to get the big
hit.”
It's been a good April so far for Burrell, who has been
the Phils' best offensive player with a .400 average,
four homers and 12 RBIs in 11 games.
The win was the Phillies' first in three games with
2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins out of the lineup and still
day-to-day with a sprained left ankle.
Late last summer, Burrell came up big when Chase Utley
was sidelined with a broken hand, hitting .316 with
eight homers and 21 RBIs in the 28 games the All-Star
second baseman missed.
“He's the type of guy that jumps in the spotlight
and really swings the bat well when key guys are out of
the lineup,” pitcher Brett Myers said.
Myers (1-1) had a rocky beginning, but overcame three
solo homers, two in the first inning, to work eight
strong innings for his first win as a starter since he
fanned 12 and went nine innings in a home win over the
Cubs in September 2006.
Starting again after almost a full season in the
bullpen, Myers had better command against the Cubs than
he did in his first two outings, both disappointments.
“I definitely felt a lot more aggressive with
every pitch,” said Myers, who allowed five hits,
fanned five and walked none. “I thought I threw
pitches with conviction instead of lollypopping them in
there.”
The Cubs grabbed a quick 2-0 first-inning lead when
Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez ripped back-to-back,
two-out homers to left, both on 91 mph fastballs.
But Myers settled down, allowing just three more hits
the rest of the way, one a leadoff homer in the sixth
by Alfonso Soriano that tied the game at 3.
“He became the Brett Myers we all know,”
said Greg Dobbs, who got a start at third base and
contributed two hits, the second a fifth-inning double
that gave the Phils a 3-2 lead.
Myers doesn't win, though, if Burrell doesn't come up
big.
“Pat is hitting the ball to right field with more
authority,” Manuel said. “He's swinging
good right now. He's got a quick bat.”
(phillyburbs.com)