Back-to-back backing for Moyer as Phillies beat Yankees

NEW YORK - Believe it or not, the Phillies have scored six runs before. They have gotten a stellar pitching performance out of Jamie Moyer before. And they have defeated an American League powerhouse on its home turf before.

What differentiated their 6-3 victory over the Yankees from the few others that have populated this past month was something that happened in the third inning.

The Phillies homered.

Twice.

In consecutive at-bats.

Used to be, the Phillies accomplished the feat about as regularly as they ate lunch. But last night's back-to-back blows by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth to lead off the third inning marked the first time they had homered in consecutive at-bats this season.

And, for at least 1 night, all was right in the world.

"It felt good to be able to get out there and get them," said Howard, who crushed an 0-1 fastball from A.J. Burnett over the wall in centerfield. "I think everybody is just trying to take it 1 day at a time and just get that feel back, get that momentum back."

The victory over Burnett and the sizzling-hot Yankees could provide the Phillies with their best opportunity to build a little something since their epic offensive funk began 26 games ago. True, it was only their ninth victory during that stretch. And once the wild Burnett left the game in the fourth inning, they did not manage another hit, and put only one more runner on base.

But for a few fleeting moments, the Phillies looked like the team most people expected this season. First came a second-inning walk by Raul Ibanez, who then recorded his first stolen base of the season to set up an RBI single by Greg Dobbs, who entered the night with only nine hits in 63 at-bats.

Later in the inning came a three-run triple by Shane Victorino, who entered the night hitless in his previous 15 at-bats. And, finally, in the third, came Howard and Werth, who each hit his 11th home run of the season to give the Phillies a 6-1 lead.

"I don't know if there was a collective exhale; I do know that we started walking around with a little more pep in our step," Dobbs said. "Like, hey, this is the offense we know we have and that we've had for the last 4 or 5 years."

The way Moyer pitched in his previous start against a hot-hitting AL East power, you might have thought the third-place Phillies would need more than six runs to improve to 33-30 and keep pace with the first-place Braves, who are 3 1/2 games ahead of them in the National League East. But the steady 47-year-old veteran looked nothing like the pitcher who allowed nine runs on only three outs in a career-worst loss to the Red Sox over the weekend. Instead, he looked like the man who shut the Yankees down late in spring training at Legends Field, then went on to go 6-5 with a 3.98 ERA in his first 11 starts.

Moyer, who had not faced the Yankees since 2005, pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk, while striking out five in becoming the oldest pitcher to beat the Yankees, at 47 years, 155 days, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

"I don't mind giving Jamie Moyer the ball," manager Charlie Manuel said, "because I know he's going to give you everything he's got when he's out there."

The mood in the postgame clubhouse was far lighter than it has been in recent weeks, certainly lighter than Tuesday night, when Roy Halladay allowed six runs and the Phillies managed only three against Yankees ace CC Sabathia in a loss that dropped them to within two games of .500.

One game does not end a slump, and the Phillies are scheduled to face a pitcher tonight in Andy Pettitte who beat them twice in last year's World Series, including on 3 days' rest in the Game 6 clincher.

But for a team which entered the night ranked a measly ninth in the NL in home runs, the exploits of Werth and Howard injected a much-needed dose of life into a struggling squad.

"Home runs will come," Howard said. "They come when they come. I don't think anybody is going up there trying to swing for home runs. They happen. And on this team, yeah, they do sometimes happen to happen a lot. They'll be there. There's no need to panic. It's great when they are there. But we're not going to panic."

For at least 1 night, there was no reason to. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.