There are signs of life in Ryan Howard's bat.

They are faint, but they are there.

Howard teamed up with Jayson Werth in tonight's 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Howard went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and two runs. Werth went 3 for 4 and tied a career-high with four RBIs to help the Phillies snap a two-game losing streak.

That's exactly the way Charlie Manuel had hoped it would work.

He had fretted entering this three-game series against the Braves because the Phillies have struggled against lefthanded pitching and the Braves were throwing three lefthanded starters against him.

But the Phillies scattered 11 hits against Braves lefthander Jo-Jo Reyes as they overcame a 3-0 deficit after the first inning.

Chase Utley hit a leadoff single in the fourth, and Howard doubled off the wall to put runners on second and third with no outs. Werth singled to center two batters later to score both runners, making it 3-2.

In the fifth, Shane Victorino singled, stole second and moved to third. Howard singled to right with two outs to tie it at 3. After Pat Burrell singled to put runners on first and second, Werth singled to left to score Howard, giving the Phillies the 4-3 lead.

Werth knocked in an insurance run with another single in the seventh.

Howard and Werth deserve plenty of credit for the victory, but so do Kyle Kendrick and the bullpen. Kendrick looked shaky early. He allowed three runs in the first and had the bases loaded with two outs in the second before he settled down. In six innings, he allowed six hits, three runs and four walks. He struck out two.

J.C. Romero pitched a scoreless seventh, Tom Gordon pitched a scoreless eighth, and Brad Lidge picked up his 10th save in the ninth, although he allowed his first earned run of the season - mostly because Werth misjudged a fly ball to center field that could have ended the game.

But much of the attention understandably centered on Howard, who has a five-game hitting streak that has raised his average from .163 to .181. Howard is hitting 6 for 21 (.286) with a double, a triple, a home run, and four RBIs in those five games. Last night also was his fifth multi-hit game of the season and his first since May 1 against the San Diego Padres.