Phillies Notebook: Ryan Howard's home-run drought

DENVER - On May 7, Ryan Howard was hitting .282 after hitting his sixth home run of the season in a 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

With six homers in his first 32 games, Howard looked like his old self after a long road of rehab and recovery from left Achilles' surgery in the fall of 2011.

But Howard just went the duration of the Phils' 11-day road trip, which ended in the hitter's haven that is Coors Field, without a home run. He hasn't hit a homer in the month of June.

Since homering off of Boston's John Lackey in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park on May 29, Howard is homerless in 67 plate appearances. And since that home run in San Francisco 6 weeks ago, Howard has just one in 130 plate appearances.

Manager Charlie Manuel defended his slugger earlier on the just-completed road trip, saying he had no plans of moving Howard out of the fourth spot in the batting order. He continued his defense of Howard following yesterday's game when Howard went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

"He hit two balls hard into the shift [for outs], and he got two hits," Manuel said. "He stayed on the ball and he started barreling the ball. If Ryan Howard works on hitting .300, then I guarantee by the end of the season he'd have 40 or better home runs. Right now when he's hitting the ball, the balls, he's not getting them in the air, but stop and think about it, he's staying on the ball, and he's putting the fat part of the bat on the ball."

Although the home runs have all but disappeared, Howard is hitting .289 (24-for-83) with 10 extra-base hits in 24 games since May 21, when he returned to the lineup after sitting out two games with an ailing left knee.

Howard hit .333 (11-for-33) with three doubles, four walks and 11 strikeouts in 10 games on Phils' road trip through Milwaukee, Minnesota and Colorado. After going 4-for-8 in two games this weekend, Howard raised his average to .265, the highest it has been since he was at .270 on May 9.

Manuel wasn't too eager to answer questions about waiting for a home-run binge from Howard.

"I mean that's kind of like saying he got two hits and got two RBI today but he didn't hit a homer," Manuel said on whether he has been waiting for a home run. "That ain't the way it goes. He's going to hit some homers. If he hits .300 or .280, I guarantee you he's going to hit a lot of homers. His homers will come."

Chase Utley could begin a minor league rehab assignment as soon as tomorrow.

Utley took live batting practice on Friday and Saturday at Coors Field. It was the first time he hit with the rest of his teammates before a game since suffering a right oblique strain in a batting practice swing in Miami on May 21.

The Phils did not hit before yesterday's game - tarp covered the field while a late-morning storm blew through Denver - but Utley is expected to be with the team again today. The Phils likely will decide on the next step for his rehab prior to today's game at Citizens Bank Park against the Washington Nationals.

Earlier on the 11-day road trip, Utley said a mid-June return was "realistic." But perhaps a more realistic target date would come this weekend, when the Phils host the New York Mets before embarking on another 11-day road trip through San Diego, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh next week.

Phillers

Ben Revere's ninth inning single on Sunday extended his hitting streak to seven games. Revere is hitting .438 (14-for-32) in the streak. In 41 games since May 1, Revere is hitting .321 (42-for-131) with a .360 on-base percentage. … Kevin Frandsen (1-for-4) has reached base safely in each of his last five games, hitting .500 (5-for-10) in that span. Frandsen made his second start in the last three games on Sunday. … Carlos Ruiz (right hamstring strain) made his second straight minor league rehab start on Sunday at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Ruiz went 1-for-3 with a run scored. He was scheduled to continue his rehab with Double-A Reading this week and he'll likely rejoin the Phils before the weekend. … John Lannan will make his first start since April 17 tonight against the Washington Nationals. Lannan began his career with Washington but had an ugly exit, getting bounced from the rotation and sent to Triple-A before the beginning of the 2012 season. Lannan was non-tendered by Washington this winter and signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Phils in December. Lannan, who missed the last two months with a left knee injury, will be activated prior to Monday's game.

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