Triple Threat Pacing Phillies in October

PHILADELPHIA -- So far this postseason, Ryan Howard has as many triples as home runs.

That's not a bad thing.

"Ryan's a lot of fun to watch," Phillies teammate Jimmy Rollins said after Sunday's biggest beatdown west of Foxborough, Mass.

"We don't have the power-hitting Ryan Howard right now, but we have a great hitter in Ryan Howard, delivering, driving in RBIs."

A lot of RBI.

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With a two-run triple in the first inning and a run-scoring groundout in the second, Howard drove in three of the six runs the Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda allowed in 1 1/3 innings.

The Phillies -- slightly tougher than the Instructional League team Kuroda faced last week as he convinced the Dodgers to use him in the NLCS -- went on to win 11-0, matching the Dodgers' worst-ever postseason defeat and wiping away memories of Friday's Game 2 meltdown.

"Pitching wins championships, defense wins championships, hitting wins championships," Jayson Werth said. "And we were able to do all those things tonight."


Surely. The Phillies outscored the Lions, Redskins, Eagles, Seahawks and Titans on the day.

Lefty Cliff Lee was the biggest star of the game, striking out 10 and walking none in eight scoreless innings.

Howard has brought his usual second-half, carry-the-team thing to the postseason from the beginning.

"He's just a big-game player," Werth said. "He drives in a ton of runs every year and he comes on strong late in the year. If you're ever going to pick when you play good, you want to be playing good down the stretch and in the postseason. And Ryan's been pretty true to form here."

In the Phillies' seven postseason games, Howard is 10-for-26 (.385) with six extra-base hits and 12 RBI. He has driven in a run in all seven games, setting an RBI-streak record for a single postseason.

"Ryan's been up with the opportunity to drive in a lot of runs," Rollins said, "and he's been doing it. That's what he plays the game for.

"He gets paid a lot of money and he's living up to every dollar of it."

A relaxed and productive Howard, with the quality hitters he has batting in front of him and behind him, seems enough to make up for the unpredictable throws by Chase Utley and the Phillies relievers.

Even if Howard doesn't homer.

"If you're ever going to pick when you play good, you want to be playing good down the stretch and in the postseason. And Ryan's been pretty true to form here."
-- Jayson Werth on Ryan Howard's playoff performance "He doesn't try to hit home runs," Raul Ibanez said. "He doesn't hit home runs in batting practice. He's a professional hitter."

Howard's hot streak actually dates back to early August; he finished the regular season with a .322 average, 19 homers and 62 RBI in his final 54 games -- 1/3rd of a season.

"For some reason I just went up there and just started seeing more pitches," Howard said. "Just told myself to relax and try and see as many pitches as I can and just wait for a mistake."

Howard has reached base safely in 16 straight postseason games, the longest such streak since David Ortiz in 2004-07.

"I think it's more just the experience that I've gained from last year to this year," he said, "Just the entire feel of the playoffs. And just kind of taking a step back and looking at last year, at what kind of happened last year [a tough Division Series], and just ways of maybe being able to change that going into this year. I just kind of gathered that experience of just being more relaxed, going up there and being loose and having fun playing the game."

Said Ibanez: "He's a great hitter. Not only a powerful hitter, but a great hitter who can hit the ball to all fields and hurt you to all fields. So it's a lot of fun to watch."

Especially when he chugs out a triple.

"For a big guy, he runs better than people think," Werth said. "He gets around the sacks pretty good."

Howard hit a ball down the right-field line, and he saw Andre Ethier had to go a long way and the ball slow down.

"I said, 'All right, here we go,' " Howard said.

So what's left this fall, other than repeating as World Series winner -- and, you know, a few homers?

Perhaps a stolen base?

"That," Howard said, "might be next."