Pitching teams with hitting for Phils' win

Before Ryan Howard flexed his muscles last night at Citizens Bank Park, he showcased his speed.

Now, Howard is more Escalade than Corvette, but he can motor. He showed that in the first and second innings before he crushed home runs in the fourth and sixth innings in an 11-1 victory over the Florida Marlins. That combination of power and speed - OK, Howard isn't going to be the next member of the 40-40 club - complemented lefthander Jamie Moyer, who continued his mastery over the Marlins.

They helped the Phillies move within four games of the New York Mets in the National League East.

But don't expect to see Howard, who hustled to beat out a double play in the first to allow the tying run to score and scored from second on a single to right in the second that handed the Phillies the lead, getting base-stealing lessons from Davey Lopes.

"Nah, he's all right like he is," manager Charlie Manuel said.

"I'm hoping," said Howard, when asked about getting a green light to steal a base. "It would be nice to get that zero out of the 'SB' column."

Moyer (10-8) allowed one run in six innings after a slow start in which he allowed five hits, two walks and one home run in the first two innings. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second by striking out Miguel Cabrera looking on a 2-2 fastball to end the inning.

"It was a big pitch," Moyer said. "It's a lift to get through an inning like that without giving up any runs. For a team like that, for me watching them play and pitching against them, it's feast or famine, when you face a team like that. Either you have your way with them or they're just swinging and scoring a lot of runs."

Howard, who went 2 for 4 with two home runs, three RBIs, three runs scored and one walk, had the 11th multi-homer game of his career. He entered last night hitting just .189 (7 for 37) with one home run, five RBIs and 20 strikeouts in his previous 10 games. Maybe this is a sign he is snapping out of his recent funk, which has coincided with Chase Utley's landing on the disabled list with a broken right hand.

Moyer has had no such problems with the Marlins. He is 6-0 with a 2.31 ERA in six career starts against the Marlins, and 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in three starts against them this season.

"They like to swing," Manuel of the Marlins. "They love to hit. He dazzles them. He kind of walks them off the plate with his stuff. He keeps them honest inside. He takes the sting out of their bats."

August proved kind to both Howard and Moyer last season. Howard's season took off in August on his way to winning the National League MVP. Moyer made his Phillies debut Aug. 22 and went 5-2 with a 4.03 ERA the rest of the way. If those two could find similar success this August, they could make life a little more interesting the rest of the way.

The Phillies were 131/2 games out of first place and 31/2 games out in the wild-card race at this point last season. They are four back in the NL East and two back in the wild card race today.

They got help last night from Marlins righthander Rick VandenHurk, who allowed five hits, six runs and five walks, and committed two balks and hit one batter in just 21/3 innings.

Howard played a role in his demise with his hustle.

Does Howard consider himself fast?

"I try to," Howard said with a smile. "Others laugh. I just try to go out there and do what I can, man. Sometimes they just underestimate the speed and find out."