A highlight of Jayson Werth's career came on the afternoon early last month when Phillies manager Charlie Manuel summoned him to his office and said he had chosen the athletic rightfielder as a replacement player for the National League in the All-Star Game.
For Werth, it was validation for all the obstacles he had cleared to become the quality everyday player some thought he would never be. Some around the league raised their eyebrows. Charlie was playing favorites, they assumed. Manuel's explanation? Werth is one of his guys. Besides, the manager said, he deserved it.
Werth was genuinely moved by Manuel's endorsement. And lately, he's been taking good care of his boss.
Last night, Werth tossed another shovelful of dirt over Arizona with his fourth home run in three games as the Phillies rolled to a 12-3 win in front of the 53d sellout crowd of the season at Citizens Bank Park.
Afterward, Manuel said that at the start of the season he thought Werth still had to prove he was an everyday player, even though he had won the job from Geoff Jenkins in May of last year.
"I think he not only had to prove it to us, but I think he had to prove it to himself, too," Manuel said. "I think last year when he walked into my office and we talked, I told him I'd play him regularly if he showed me he could go out there and do it. Actually, he won that spot last year."
The win was the Phils' eighth in their last nine games. It increased their lead in the NL East to 61/2 games over Atlanta and Florida.
Ryan Howard drove in four runs, three with his 32d home run, and Joe Blanton overcame a wobbly start to go eight innings to get the win. Blanton retired 14 of the last 16 Diamondbacks and didn't issue a walk. In fact, Phillies pitchers didn't walk a batter during the three-game sweep.
Blanton has not gotten much run support this season. In 10 of his 22 starts, the Phils scored no more than two runs.
"When you get some runs, you just go out and attack the zone," Blanton said after his eighth consecutive quality start. "Make them beat you. Don't give up anything. It makes it a little more comfortable. A game like this makes it a little easier to attack hitters."
Werth pointed the Phillies in the right direction with his 28th homer, a two-run blast over the centerfield fence that made it 6-3 in the fifth inning. In the three-game series, Werth batted .583 (7 for 12) and drove in six runs. A notorious streak hitter, he has homered in three straight games three times this season.
"Werth has been on fire," Howard said. "The way he's swinging the bat, he's been phenomenal. He's really picked us up."
Howard has six home runs and 19 RBIs in his last 11 games. In his last seven games, he batted .346 with six homers and 16 RBIs. His three-run homer in the five-run sixth was a mammoth drive that landed in the raised bullpen in right-center.
"It was a fastball. It felt good. I was able to catch up to it," said Howard, who has 98 RBIs.
Early in the game, not much came easily for Blanton on a sweltering night when the air was as thick as pea soup. The righthander benefited from double plays in the first and third innings, but the defense wasn't as sharp in the fourth, when the Diamondbacks pulled even at 3-3 with two runs.
But instead of wilting in the humidity, Blanton got stronger as the game progressed. He allowed one hit in his final three innings before Chad Durbin pitched the ninth.
"He's a bulldog. He comes right at you. He battles. He uses his stuff. Tonight he was very good," Manuel said.
Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.
Photos: 2009 Phillies 
