The Phillies haven't had Jimmy Rollins in their starting lineup since April 8. They haven't had Shane Victorino in their lineup since April 12. Pedro Feliz is hitting .203. Carlos Ruiz is hitting .213. Geoff Jenkins is hitting .228. The Phillies also entered yesterday's 4-2 loss to the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park ranked 10th in the league in hitting with runners in scoring position at .245.

But Howard is the former NL MVP.

If he's not hitting, people notice.

"Obviously, I'm not comfortable at the plate," said Howard, who went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts. "I'm not seeing the ball the way I want to see it. When you're not comfortable and you're not seeing it, that's what happens. Hopefully, I can get comfortable and start seeing the ball and then be able to hit it."

Howard is hitting .182 with four homers and nine RBIs in 66 at-bats.

He hit .204 with six homers and 23 RBIs in 129 at-bats last season before he landed on the disabled list with a strained left quadriceps. He hit .283 with 41 homers and 113 RBIs upon his return.

He felt comfortable, so he started to hit.

"Once I can get comfortable at the plate I'll be all right," he said.

He hopes it happens soon. He heard boos from the hometown crowd yesterday, noticeably so after he struck out to end the seventh inning.

"How the fans react is how they react," Howard said.

It hasn't helped Howard that he faced lefthander Johan Santana on Friday and lefthander Oliver Perez yesterday. He entered the game a career .314 hitter against righthanders and a career .232 hitter against lefthanders.

"It doesn't help," he said. "It's never easy, but when you're not comfortable at the plate it's that much harder."

Howard wasn't the only one who struggled against Perez and the six relief pitchers Mets manager Willie Randolph trotted to the mound. The Phillies left 12 runners on base. They were 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position. They had the bases loaded with one out in the eighth, but Jenkins and Jayson Werth both struck out to end the inning.

"We couldn't put the run across," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We had a good chance to win the game. We didn't get it done."

The Phillies have 11 quality starts this season, which ranks third in the league. They're 8-10. Nobody thought they'd be under .500 because of their offense.

"Our pitching has been good enough for us to have a winning record," Manuel said. "We've left a lot of runners on base."