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Moyer tosses 7-hitter as Phillies beat Padres 6-2

Jun 6, 2010 - 2:54 AM PHILADELPHIA(AP) -- Jamie Moyer continues to prove age is just a number, while his Philadelphia Phillies teammates showed they still can hit.

The 47-year-old Moyer pitched a seven-hitter and Jayson Werth homered to help the Phillies break out of their offensive slump with a 6-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.

Ryan Howard went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs, and Chase Utley also drove in a run for the Phillies, who won their second straight. Philadelphia had been mired in a team batting slump, with its prolific offense scoring 29 runs over the last 15 games. The Phillies went 5-10 in those games.

"That looked pretty good," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We definitely swung the bats better, hit some balls hard. Yeah, we've been waiting to get a lead. It's been a long time since we've had a four-run lead."

Moyer (6-5), who moved into a tie for 38th all-time with 264 career wins, settled down after surrendering two runs on five hits in the second inning. He allowed just two hits the rest of the way while striking out one and walking one.

It was the left-hander's second complete game this season, and 33rd for a career that began in 1986. He also joined Phil Niekro (121) and Jack Quinn (103) as the only pitchers to win 100 games after age 40.

"The thing with Jamie is he knows his game and stays with it," Padres manager Bud Black said. "After the second inning, the ball started sinking. He was hitting his spots and got a lot of ground balls."

And some support, for a change, from his teammates.

Werth, Howard and Utley have been a big reason for Philadelphia's struggles, combining to hit .192 (30 for 156) with four homers, 12 RBIs and 41 strikeouts since May 18. Utley in particular had been scuffling, going 4 for 37 with one RBI in his previous 10 games, while Howard had just one extra-base hit in his last 12.

All three had a hand in the pivotal third inning, when the Phillies scored four runs in a frame for the first time since May 17.

Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco led off with singles, and Victorino scored on Utley's single to left before Howard cleared the bases with a double to the wall in left-center, giving Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. After Howard moved to third on Werth's fly out, he scored on Raul Ibanez's sacrifice fly to right.

Werth gave Philadelphia a four-run cushion two innings later when he hit a two-run homer to right-center off Jon Garland (6-3).

"It's a long season and you go through ups and downs," Werth said. "We hit a bump in the road but no one in here was too worried."

Moyer has been a victim of the Phillies' struggles of late, with the offense scoring just one run in his last three starts - all losses.

"We've done that quite well the last couple of years (scoring runs)," Moyer said. "Right now, it's not quite as regular. Every person in this clubhouse has the utmost confidence in our offense. Teams go through droughts."

Garland had won six straight decisions, going 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA in his last eight starts. But he continued his struggles against Philadelphia, dropping to 0-4 in five career starts versus the Phillies. He allowed six runs on 10 hits in seven innings, losing for the first time since April 11.

The Phillies finished with 10 hits, marking just the second time they had reached double-digit hits since getting 13 in a 12-2 win over Pittsburgh May 17. Their six runs also were the most since the May 17 victory over the Pirates. And it was in that May 17 win over the Pirates that the Phillies last scored at least four runs in an inning, when they tallied four in the eighth.

NOTES: Garland had two hits, giving him the first multihit game of his career. ... Polanco went 2 for 4, improving to 16 for 41 lifetime versus Garland. ... Prior to the game, the Phillies presented Roy Halladay with the pitching rubber used in his perfect game victory against Florida May 29.