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Coste powers Phillies past Dodgers

Aug 23, 2008 - 4:59 AM By Vince DiGregorio PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Once the hitters became more patient, the Philadelphia Phillies' offense came to life.

Chris Coste homered and drove in four runs while Ryan Howard and Chase Utley also belted shots as the Phillies overcame a slow start and posted an 8-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series on Friday.

The offensive explosion came against the newly acquired Greg Maddux (6-10), who was seeking his 354th career win. The veteran righthander was making his second straight start against the Phillies but first with the Dodgers, who obtained the four-time Cy Young Award winner from the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

Maddux pitched against Philadelphia for San Diego a week ago, allowing a solo homer by Pat Burrell in the 1-0 loss.

After Andre Ethier's 16th blast of the season in the first inning gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead, Maddux kept the Phillies' bats quiet for 3 2/3 frames. He faced the minimum number of hitters while throwing just 28 pitches.

"When you watch video on Maddux, he relies on a lot of movement," Coste said. "But he does throw a lot of strikes, so you kind of have to be ready to swing the bat on almost every single pitch. In that regard, it puts you in a comfort zone. But he can easily give you that comfortable 0-for-3, 0-for-4 (performance) and, before you know it, you're losing 1-0, like it was going for a while."

Up to that point, Maddux surrendered just an infield single in the third by Geoff Jenkins, who was erased on a double-play grounder. Jenkins did not return for the fourth due to a right hip strain.

"It's not how you start, it's how you finish," Maddux said. "I didn't finish up good."

However, Burrell worked a two-out walk off Maddux in the fourth during a 10-pitch at-bat. That seemed to ignite the offense as Howard followed with his 34th homer, driving a 2-0 offering over the left field wall for a 2-1 lead.

"Howard actually hit a halfway-decent pitch," Maddux said. "He's just so freakin' strong. That guy, you've got to keep him on the ground. I fell behind Howard and he got me, plain and simple."

Howard believed Burrell's walk was the key.

"It was a great (at-bat)," Howard said. "It was the kind of at-bat that everyone wants to have. For him to be able to get a walk and battle and make (Maddux) throw a lot of pitches worked out in our favor. Sometimes you just need a spark here and there to get going."

Philadelphia, which has won four of five, made it 3-1 in the fifth by opening the frame with three straight singles, capped by Coste's run-scoring base hit.

The Phillies broke open the contest with four runs in the sixth inning. Jayson Werth's sacrifice fly made it, 4-1, and Coste chased Maddux from the game by hitting a 1-1 pitch into the left field seats for a three-run homer.

"It was a changeup around the knees, I guess, but it was just one of those (pitches) that caught a lot of the plate," Coste said. "When you're hitting eighth, you've got to try and drive in your share of runs when you get opportunities."

It was the ninth homer of the season for Coste and first since July 27.

Maddux lasted 5 2/3 innings, surrendering seven runs and nine hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

"The thing is, (Maddux) is not gonna beat himself. You're gonna have to beat him," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "He was right about where he's used to being there in the sixth inning, and unfortunately, we just (kept him in) one hitter too long. At that point in time, a 4-1 score, that's a winnable game for us."

Coste felt Maddux's final line was not indicative of the way he pitched.

"He wasn't horrible," Coste said. "We got some timely hits. I think the score looks worse than the way he pitched. He left some pitches up and we took advantage of them when we had to."

Utley added his 31st home run in the seventh off Ramon Troncoso to complete the scoring.

Kyle Kendrick (11-7) did just enough to pick up the win in his 5 2/3-inning stint. The righthander labored through his 99-pitch outing but allowed only one run and three hits despite hitting a batter and throwing a wild pitch.

"I kept us in the game," Kendrick said. "I would have liked to go deep into the game, but my pitch count was up there. It's just nice to give us a chance to win."

Kendrick, who walked two and struck out three, ran into two-out trouble in the sixth inning by walking Manny Ramirez and yielding a single by James Loney, who collected three of Los Angeles' five hits. But Chad Durbin came on to retire Russell Martin on a shallow flyout to end the threat.

Greg Dobbs recorded two hits and scored twice for Philadelphia, which was swept of a four-game series in Los Angeles from August 11-14. The Phillies (69-59) remained 2 1/2 games behind the New York Mets (72-57) for first place in the National League East.