Hot Burrell providing needed lift

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)