• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Moyer and Howard lead Phillies to mauling of Marlins

Aug 8, 2007 - 3:47 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- When Jamie Moyer sees the Florida Marlins, a smile creases his 44-year-old face.

Moyer tossed six strong innings and Ryan Howard belted two home runs and drove in three runs to help the Phillies open a six-game homestand with a 11-1 blowout over the Florida Marlins on Tuesday night.

Aaron Roward hit a solo homer and Todd Linden had three hits for Philadelphia, which saw its deficit in the National League East reduced to four games after the East Division-leading New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 7-3. Atlanta is now 3 1/2 games behind New York.

Moyer (10-8) is now 6-0 with a 2.31 ERA in six career starts vs. Florida.

"The way I look at it, my luck is going to change at sometime," said Moyer of his success vs. the Marlins. "The odds are in their favor."

After surrendering a leadoff homer on the game's first pitch to Hanley Ramirez, the veteran southpaw allowed just four more base hits - all singles - on a hot, muggy night. The 44-year-old lefthander retired 13 in a row after getting out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the second inning.

"I said to (bench coach) Jimmy Williams, that that was the ball game," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel on Moyer's strikeout of Miguel Cabrera to get out of the second."

"It's a lift to get through an inning like that without giving up any runs," Moyer said.

The 21-year veteran, who earned his 226th career win, struck out five in the contest.

"With the type of hitters Florida has, they love to swing, love to hit - he dazzles them and walks them off the plate with his stuff," Manuel said.

Rookie Rick VandenHurk (3-3), on the other hand, was in trouble early and never recovered.

The righthander walked three batters in the first inning, including lead-off hitter Jimmy Rollins, who scored on a Howard fielder's choice groundout. VandenHurk then found the strike zone in the third, but that proved fatal as the Phillies recorded four consecutive hits, including consecutive RBI doubles by Abraham Nunez and Moyer, to plate five runs in the frame.

"From the start of the game, I didn't have my control," VandenHurk said. "The third inning, I got behind in the count and they hit it good. The next thing I know, I had (thrown) a lot of pitches and we're behind by 6-1 and that was it."

VandenHurk was tagged for six runs, five hits and five walks in 2 1/3 innings.

"He just couldn't get his fastball down," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez added. "He got it into the middle of the plate. It's a tough learning experience for him and for the other kids - (Carlos) Martinez and (Mauro) Zarate."

Martinez relieved VandenHurk in the third, but gave up back-to-back homers to Howard and Aaron Rowand to make it 8-1.

Howard, who passed Houston's Carlos Lee for the National League RBI lead with 93, then belted his 32nd home run in the sixth inning off Zarate.

It was the fourth time this season that the reigning NL MVP has gone deep twice in a game and the 11th time in his three-year career.

"Right now I am just trying to put two at-bats together that are pretty consistent and hopefully it will turn into a couple of games and then try and finish up strong," Howard said.

The Phillies added two more runs in sixth and then J.D. Durbin allowed three hits over the final three innings to record his first career save.

Phillies outfielder Pat Burrell was hitless in five at-bats to halt his 14-game hitting streak.