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Myers strong as Phillies rout Astros

Apr 17, 2008 - 9:50 PM By Vince DiGregorio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- After a pair of one-run games, the Philadelphia Phillies made sure there was no suspense in this contest.

Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Pat Burrell each homered and drove in two runs to back the solid pitching of Brett Myers as Philadelphia posted a convincing 10-2 victory over the Houston Astros in the rubber game of the three-game series on Thursday.

Myers (2-1) turned in his second straight quality start, going seven innings and allowing a run and five hits. He walked one and had a season-high eight strikeouts.

Myers' outing was the fourth quality start by a Phillies hurler in the last five games.

"I don't like going out there and rolling over on anybody," Myers said. "I want to get out there and actually be the aggressor of the game and set the tempo early.

"The offense made it easy on me today to be able to go out and do that," Myers said.

Chris Coste also had a big offensive day for the Phillies with a home run, three RBI and tied his career high with four hits.

"As a team, we needed a game like this," Coste said. "I think it's a lot easier to hit when there are already runs on the board just the same way it's easier to pitch when we got the lead.

"We know we're going to score runs and the pitchers have shown they can keep us in games. So if we can put this together, I think we're going to be all right."

With Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino still out due to injury,the Phillies again used a makeshift lineup at the top of the order. So Taguchi led off and Greg Dobbs batted second and both delivered first-inning singles to start a rally.

"Obviously, with Victorino and Jimmy out of the lineup, you've got to scratch and claw to get runs any way you can," Coste said.

One out later, Howard and Burrell each added an RBI single to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Geoff Jenkins followed with a run-scoring double to make it, 3-0, but Burrell was thrown out at the plate on the play.

The Astros threatened in the second with three singles, but the slow-footed Carlos Lee was thrown out at the plate by Jenkins to end the inning on Humberto Quintero's hit to right.

Astros starter Brandon Backe averted disaster in the third when Dobbs just missed a three-run homer at the right field foul pole. After Dobbs was retired, Backe got Howard on an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.

But Backe surrendered an RBI double to Coste in the third that made it 4-0. After Miguel Tejada homered in the fourth to get Houston on the board, Utley ended Backe's day with a two-run blast in the bottom half of the frame to make it, 6-1.

"(The Phillies) are a good offensive team, but we didn't pitch very well today," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "Bad things happen and today was one of those days. Today was definitely a stinker."

Backe (1-2) went three-plus innings and allowed six runs - five earned - and 10 hits.

"Brandon was up in the strike zone a lot," Cooper said. "He didn't have his good curveball today. He needs to have his breaking ball to be effective. It's the first game that we really didn't pitch well."

Philadelphia added two runs in the sixth off Oscar Villareal when Howard and Burrell hit back-to-back homers that made it, 8-1. Coste increased the margin to 10-1 with a two-run blast in the eighth off Jose Valverde.

"It's been a struggle to put together big innings," Coste said. "We needed a game like this to get back on track."

Lee completed the scoring with a solo home run in the ninth inning.