Grand entrance: Howard's pinch-hit slam powers Phils past Arizona

May 10, 2007, 1:50 GMT

Phoenix, AZ - Ryan Howard belted a pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies scored nine runs in the final three frames to rout the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-3, and salvage one win from a three-game set.

Shane Victorino also homered for the Phillies, who finished a 10-game road trip 4-6.

Orlando Hudson and Eric Byrnes homered for the Diamondbacks, who had a three- game winning streak snapped.

The game featured the oldest combined age of any opposing lefthanded starting pitchers (88 years, 48 days) in Major League Baseball history, as Arizona's Randy Johnson (43 years, 241 days) and Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer (44 years, 172 days) squared off.

Moyer (4-2) held Arizona to six hits and three runs in seven innings, fanning four while walking one. Brett Myers pitched the scoreless eighth and ninth to record his third save.

Johnson took a hard-luck no-decision, dominating the Phils through six innings, but allowing the first three batters to reach base in the seventh, setting up Howard's slam. The Arizona lefty struck out the first six batters of the game, and had nine strikeouts through four innings, but fanned no more through the rest of his six-plus innings, and allowed four hits and three runs.

Brandon Medders (1-1) allowed Howard's slam in the seventh to take the loss.

Aaron Rowand led off the seventh for the Phils with a single, and moved to second when Chase Utley was hit by a pitch. Pat Burrell followed with a walk, ending Johnson's evening. Medders came out of the Arizona bullpen, but Howard pinch-hit for Wes Helms, and promptly ripped the first offering from Medders out to right to put the Phils on top.

'I felt pretty good,' said Johnson. 'For the first six innings I felt I was in control of the game, then I hit a little bit of a wall, a broken bat hit and then I hit somebody, then I walk somebody, the first walk of the day, and put myself, put us in a bad position.'

The Phils added two insurance runs in the eighth, with one scoring on a Conor Jackson throwing error, and Michael Bourn singling in another. Philadelphia broke the game open in the ninth, with Jimmy Rollins stroking an RBI double, and Victorino ripping a two-run homer to right.

Arizona got on the board with one in the third. Alberto Callaspo doubled to left to lead things off, moved to third on a Johnson sacrifice bunt, and crossed home on Chris Young's sac fly to center.

Hudson ripped a high fastball out to left to lead off the fourth, giving Arizona a 2-0 lead.

Byrnes jacked his fifth homer of the season, a shot to left with two outs that put the D-Backs up 3-0 in the sixth.

Game Notes

Utley has been plunked a league-leading 11 times...Moyer and Johnson are former teammates from Seattle (1996-98) and this was only the second time that they have faced each other, the other being on September 21, 1989 when Moyer's Rangers were defeated by Johnson's Mariners. The only other player in that game who is still active is Ken Griffey Jr...The Phillies finished up their stretch of 23 consecutive games without a day off, and are off on Thursday.

© 2007 The Sports Network

Game Notes

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