When Howard is on a roll like this, you let the answering machine take the call. The dog can wait at the door. That bologna sandwich will still be in the fridge after he's done hitting.

Even Howard's teammates don't miss one of his swings when he's locked in like this.

"I'm usually in the on-deck circle when he's batting, so I have the best seat in the house," said Jayson Werth.

While in the on-deck circle, Werth sometimes faces a quandary. He knows he has to focus on the pitcher and track pitches to prepare for his at-bat. But he can't help but take a peek at Howard so he doesn't risk missing the next highlight-reel moment. It's not always easy to balance the two, Werth said, because "the ball comes off Ryan's bat really hot. It takes off at an incredible rate."

Howard just finished another awesome August in which he hit .299 with 11 homers, 33 RBIs and a combined on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.038 in 27 games.

Now the good news for him and Phillies fans:

It's September, and that's always been The Big Piece's favorite month to hit.

His career numbers in the month: .317 batting average, 44 homers, 111 RBIs and a 1.151 OPS in 129 games.

Howard enters tonight's game vs. the San Francisco Giants as one of the hottest hitters in the majors. Over his last 17 games, he has hit .338 and leads the majors with 11 homers, 29 RBIs, and a .868 slugging percentage over that span. To top it off, he was named NL player of the week yesterday.

"For whatever reason, Ryan turns it up a notch in August and September," Werth said. "It seems as if he hits every ball on the screws. It's prolific stuff, fun to watch. When Ryan is like this, he can carry the whole team by himself.

"He's just another reason we're a good club. We pick each other up well on this team. He's picking us up right now."

Even the guys in the bullpen subscribe to the hold-it principle when Howard comes to the plate these days.

"It's exciting," reliever Ryan Madson said. "You can tell immediately when he hits it. It's almost like a golf ball, like he's not hitting a baseball.

"We just hope the pitcher throws a strike. If he gets one at an important time of the game, watch out."

Teammate Matt Stairs watches every Howard at-bat from the dugout. He senses that Howard is seeing the ball well.

"When Ryan is locked in like he is, he's taking pitches and going the other way," Stairs said. "His pitch selection seems good to me."

Stairs said Howard is laying off teaser pitches just inside or outside the strike zone "and hitting his pitch. You can tell when he's tracking the ball well. On a ball outside the zone, he'll drop the knob of the bat on the ball and stop. He's staying with pitches."

Howard's recent hot spell lifted him to third in the National League in homers (37) and second in RBIs (111) entering yesterday's schedule. (The Phils were off.) He was second in extra-base hits (69), fifth in slugging (.569) and tied for third in total bases (281).

Howard, 29, has finished first, fifth, and second in NL MVP voting the last three seasons. St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols, last year's winner, has a bead on his second straight MVP, but Howard is headed for another strong showing in the voting.

Though the Phils have a comfortable lead in the NL East, this is an important series for them. They are trying to lock up the division title. They are vying with the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in the league, a distinction that would earn them home-field advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs. And the Giants, who are tied with Colorado atop the NL wild-card standings, are a potential playoff opponent.

The Giants come into Citizens Bank Park flying high after pulling even with Colorado in the wild-card race with a weekend sweep of Rockies in San Francisco.

Jonathan Sanchez and Cole Hamels are tonight's starting pitchers. The Giants moved 2008 NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum back a day, and he will pitch the series finale Thursday night against Pedro Martinez, who has three Cy Young Awards on his shelf. The Giants hadn't named a starter to oppose J.A. Happ tomorrow night.

The Phils struggled in San Francisco earlier this month, losing three of four. Hamels (7-8, 4.52) allowed 10 hits and six earned runs over five innings in losing one of those games. Howard was 2 for 15 with just one RBI in the series.

Since then he's become one of the hottest hitters in the league. So if nature calls when he's coming to the plate, hold it. You don't want to miss anything.

Notes. The Phillies designated double-A infielder Brad Harman for assignment and added pitcher John Ennis to the 40-man roster. The transaction was a procedural move. Ennis had elbow surgery in April and is not ready to pitch. By adding him to their 40-man roster and disabled list, the Phils have the option of replacing him with a player from their system who is not on the 40-man roster if need be during the postseason. . . . The Phils are expected to add several players from triple-A Lehigh Valley when rosters expand today. More could come when Lehigh Valley's season ends next week. . . . Brett Myers will pitch an inning of relief on minor-league rehab for Lehigh Valley tonight.

The Playoff Race for Home Sweet Home

The NL East-leading Phillies are in a battle with the Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals and the West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers for home-field advantage in the National League playoffs.

With the wild card expected to come out of the NL West (San Francisco or Colorado), the Phillies would host the wild card if they finish with a better record than St. Louis. If the Cards have the better record, then the Phillies would have to have a better record than the Dodgers or else they would not have home-field advantage in any round of the playoffs, including the World Series, thanks to the NL's loss in the All-Star Game.

Division Leaders

Dodgers       78-53 .595

Phillies          75-53 .586

Cardinals       77-55 .583

Contact staff writer Jim Salisbury at 215-854-4983 or jsalisbury@phillynews.com.