Phillies win sixth in a row

After he threw his sixth pitch, a sinker that didn't sink and hit Ryan Zimmerman on the hand, Kyle Kendrick turned to see Rich Dubee jogging from the dugout.

Already, a run had scored. Two Nationals were on base, and if nothing changed, Kendrick was headed for a short night Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

"He just said, 'Stay aggressive. Try and get a ground ball here,' " Kendrick said. "I ended up getting a few strikeouts."

Figures, considering that Kendrick had failed to strike out two batters in three of his last four starts. And so it goes. After all, this is September and these are the Phillies.

They beat the Nationals, 5-2, winning a game started by Kendrick for the first time since Aug. 31. The red-hot Phillies, winners of six in a row, keep rolling with one more game against last-place Washington before the Braves come to Citizens Bank Park and the drama intensifies.

With 13 games left, the Phillies have a three-game lead. The Big Three - Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt - will start 10 of those games. Even after a decent Kendrick start, that's a comforting fact for the Phils.

So is this: They are playing their best baseball of the season.

"Oh, yeah," Wilson Valdez said. "We're playing the way we are supposed to play."

Pick any Phillies player, and the numbers of late are impressive. That will happen when a team goes 14-3 to begin September.

Shane Victorino has an 11-game hitting streak, which coincides with when he began hitting leadoff for manager Charlie Manuel. In that stretch, Victorino is batting better than .400.

Raul Ibanez is hitting .452 (19 for 42) with eight extra-base hits in his last 11 games. He hit an opposite-field home run in the third inning off Jordan Zimmermann.

Ryan Howard hit his sixth home run of the month and the 252d of his career, which moved him into third place on the Phillies' all-time home run list. It broke a tie with Pat Burrell and also gave him five consecutive seasons with at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, setting a franchise record formerly held by Chuck Klein.

Jayson Werth homered for the second straight game. He has an RBI in each of his last five games. Carlos Ruiz was 1 for 4 and leads the team with a .299 batting average.

Valdez had three more hits Saturday night (including two doubles) and is hitting .368 (14 for 38) in September. His overall batting average of .260 is the highest it has been since July 4.

The reserve shortstop-turned-everyday player provided a slight scare in the second inning when he pulled up limping at second base on a double. Valdez grabbed the back of his left leg, but after a visit by Manuel and head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan, Valdez remained in the game. Later, he said he was fine.

Even Kendrick joined the good times. After his last start in New York on Sept. 11, Kendrick said he deserved another start, and the Phillies agreed. But Kendrick's ERA at Citizens Bank Park is nearly two runs higher than on the road. And against Washington this season, Kendrick had a 12.71 ERA in three starts.

After throwing 52 pitches in the first two innings, Kendrick needed just 26 in the three innings that followed. At one point, he retired 11 of 13 batters, although many of those outs were loud.

In the first, Kendrick allowed a single to Danny Espinosa and a triple to Ian Desmond before plunking Zimmerman. Kendrick struck out Adam Dunn and Roger Bernadina and wiggled free of further damage with a groundout to second by Wilson Ramos.

"I don't know what the difference was," Manuel said, "but whatever it was, it worked out OK."