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Ryan Howard's homer in 10th caps Phillies' rally

Jul 10, 2010 - 3:37 AM By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA(AP) -- Before fireworks exploded above the ballpark, the Phillies bats went boom.

Greg Dobbs sparked the ninth-inning rally with a three-run homer. Cody Ransom sent the Phillies and their stay-to-the-end fans into a delirious frenzy with a two-run shot that brought them all the way back from a 7-1 deficit.

And when Ryan Howard won it with a two-run homer in the 10th, even the Phillies were stunned.

"I don't know how to explain it," Howard said after Philadelphia scored six runs in the ninth and rallied to beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-7 on Friday night.

With his team down five runs in the sixth, Howard told manager Charlie Manuel the Phillies could "crawl back" and win.

"I guess we scored them all at once," a beaming Howard said.

Staked to a 7-1 lead by the ninth, Reds starter Mike Leake appeared to be cruising toward his first career complete game.

Then it all unraveled.

Dobbs went deep to chase Leake, and Ransom hit a tying homer off closer Francisco Cordero to make it 7-all.

Raul Ibanez opened the 10th with a double off Arthur Rhodes (3-3) and Howard went the opposite way for his 17th homer of the season.

"This is huge," Howard said.

Ryan Madson (2-0) tossed a scoreless inning for the win.

Brian Schneider hit a game-ending homer in the 12th inning to give the injury-depleted Phillies a win over the Reds on Thursday.

"The last two nights have been really good. Outstanding," Manuel said. "It puts us in a good frame of mind."

The Phillies couldn't solve Leake until the ninth.

Howard's RBI single made it 7-2. After a single, Dobbs followed with a three-run homer off the right-field foul pole and the 82nd straight sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park went wild.

It was only the start of a wild ending before the postgame fireworks.

"They'll stay here for the fireworks, if nothing else," Ransom said.

Leake was finished after the longest outing of his career. Cordero retired the first batter he faced, then walked pinch-hitter Ben Francisco. Ransom followed with a drive to right-center that made it 7-all.

Ransom's homer was his first of the season and the second of his career as a pinch hitter.

"We finally got to Leake in the ninth," Ransom said. "From there, we got some momentum and kept it going."

Jonny Gomes hit a three-run homer to help the Reds roll early.

Gomes drove in four runs and Miguel Cairo had three hits. They delivered on some late, pregame shuffling of the lineup once Scott Rolen was scratched with a sore back. Cairo took his spot at third base, Gomes was bumped from fifth to fourth in the lineup and it all helped the NL West-leading Reds in a big way.

It just wasn't enough.

"That was hard to take," manager Dusty Baker said. "No lead is safe in this park."

Leake was stingy with his pitches, throwing only 45 through the first five innings. He also had three hits.

The Phillies committed two errors, had a baserunner picked off first and another thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double by the fifth.

The Reds scored three in the first inning and another in the second off starter Joe Blanton.

Blanton, who agreed to a $24 million, three-year deal in the offseason, heard a smattering of boos when he left after 5 1-3 innings.

Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins booted a grounder for an error in the first and All-Star Joey Votto singled on a perfect hit-and-run. Gomes hit his 11th homer for a 3-0 lead.

In the second, Gomes ripped a liner off Dobbs' glove at third for a run-scoring single.

Leake, who never pitched in the minors, was sensational for 8 1-3 innings and didn't tire in the muggy conditions while running the bases. His RBI single in the ninth made it 7-1. He became the first Reds pitcher to have three hits in a game since Bobby Livingston had four in 2007.

Maybe the scouting report was "swing early" because the Phillies didn't make Leake work to throw pitches. He got a visit from pitching coach Bryan Price in the ninth after allowing a run, then was yanked after Dobbs went deep.

"Leake was outstanding, pitched great," Baker said.

Well, until the ninth.

NOTES: Reds SS Orlando Cabrera was 0 for 6. ... Manuel expects C Carlos Ruiz (concussion) to return to the team Saturday. ... Manuel is open to a trade if it will help the team. "There are things we can do," he said. ... Phillies 2B Wilson Valdez was a late scratch because of a sore left wrist.