D’backs hammer Phillies

The Phillies needed 49 games in 55 days to finally surpass .500.

They needed two games in two days to return to even.

The Phils took a pounding last night in an 11-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park, which left them a season-worst eight games behind the New York Mets in the National League East. The Phillies (26-26) need to beat the Diamondbacks in the series finale tonight or they will dip below .500 again.

"I'm just as disappointed as anybody else," rightfielder Shane Victorino said. "It's not even a question that should be asked. I'm bitter to do as well as we did in Atlanta [in a three-game sweep] and then come home and start the way we did."

They even suffered a brief scare in the top of the ninth inning. First baseman Ryan Howard left the game after he got up gingerly following a diving attempt at a ball that Alberto Callaspo hit up the first-base line. Howard had his legs contorted awkwardly as he threw the ball over the head of pitcher Clay Condrey for an error.

But breathe easy.

"It's a cramp. Just a cramp," Howard stressed. "My hamstring cramped up when I tried to get up and make the play. That's why I couldn't make an accurate throw. A good play gone bad. My leg is fine. I just got up and tried to stretch it out."

That's a relief because Howard just returned from the 15-day disabled list after suffering a strained left quadriceps. The Phillies certainly couldn't afford to lose him again.

This team continues to titillate then frustrate, losing back-to-back games for the first time since May 7-8 in Arizona. The Phillies have played well since Charlie Manuel called a team meeting April 21 in Cincinnati. They are 22-15 (.595) since then, the second-best record in the National League. Unfortunately for them, the Mets have been better. New York is 23-12 (.657) in that stretch after beating the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the 12th inning last night on a homer from Carlos Delgado.

Manuel can't take many more games like last night's.

"It's kind of frustrating," he said. "Nobody likes to play like we played tonight. We didn't play good."

Phillies righthander Jon Lieber (2-3) put the Phillies in an early hole. Lieber allowed five runs in the second inning to hand the Diamondbacks a 5-0 lead. In 62/3 innings, he allowed a season-high 13 hits and five runs. He had a 2.50 ERA (11 earned runs in 392/3 innings) after his first six starts, but has a 6.94 ERA (nine earned runs in 112/3 innings) in his last two.

Stephen Drew singled and Chris Young doubled to put runners at second and third to start the second inning. Callaspo's sacrifice fly scored Drew, and Miguel Montero's single knocked in Young to make it 2-0.

Lieber struck out Micah Owings (4-1) for the second out but served up four straight hits to Eric Byrnes, Conor Jackson, Orlando Hudson and Mark Reynolds to hand the Diamondbacks a comfortable lead.

Lieber settled down after that, but the damage had been done. The Phillies couldn't counter, although they had numerous opportunities. Jimmy Rollins hit a leadoff double in the first but finished the inning stranded at third. The Phils scored a run in the second thanks to a two-out double from Aaron Rowand and a single from Carlos Ruiz, but they stranded Ruiz and Lieber. In the third, Chase Utley and Howard each singled and Pat Burrell walked to load the bases with one out, but nobody scored.

The Phillies made Owings throw 107 pitches through five innings but had only one run to show for it.

"On offense we didn't do too good until the end," Manuel said.

The Phillies closed to 5-3 in the seventh, when they had the bases loaded and one out. But Burrell, who has one hit in his last 21 at-bats, bounced to third for a double play.

"It's tough," Howard said. "Right now we haven't had anything go our way. Tomorrow we just have to come out and salvage it and get back over .500."