Phillies Notebook: Phillies goes to pinch-hit for Ryan Howard against lefties

RYAN HOWARD hit his 22nd home run of the season yesterday, but he also came to bat against a lefthanded pitcher with the score tied in the seventh inning and struck out, despite being delivered four straight fastballs.

Howard is hitting .140 against lefthanded pitchers this season, with 40 strikeouts in 100 at-bats.

Despite Howard's consistent failure to hit lefthanders, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said earlier this month that he would not pinch-hit for Howard against a lefthander. Mackanin said it was a respect thing.

But nine days after Howard swung through three straight fastballs in making the final out in a loss in Boston, against lefthander Robbie Ross, Mackanin has changed course. He said yesterday, despite not pinch-hitting for Howard, he would in a situation with a game on the line.

"I just reconsidered my thinking on that," Mackanin said after yesterday's 7-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. "I didn't want it to be an issue for Howie. As much as he's meant to the organization, I didn't want it to be an issue or be a big deal. But the fact that I'm not hitting for him has become an issue. He and I spoke about it. We're not in agreement, but he understands."

Howard was unavailable to the media following yesterday's game. His numbers against lefthanders in the last five seasons probably say enough about the situation.

Since the beginning of 2011, Howard is hitting .195 with a .620 OPS against lefthanded pitchers. He has struck out in 249 of 610 at-bats over that five-season span.

It's more than fair to wonder if Howard, who turns 36 in November, will ever be useful against lefthanders again. Obviously more reps could help Howard, who hit 10 home runs in 161 at-bats against lefthanders last season.

"[Our] conversation we had had to do with that, I said you can get your act together against lefties in spring training next year," Mackanin said. "You can work on that. But this year, we'd like to maintain some energy that we've maintained over the second half of the year. We'd like to win a few games, which creates the energy. Just the fact that he's had an off year facing lefties makes it easier to make that decision."

So why didn't Mackanin hit for Howard yesterday, when the game-winning run only scored after Howard struck out and when Cubs lefty Clayton Richard uncorked a wild pitch to the next batter?

"In that situation, if I hit for him I thought they'd bring in a righthander, so I gave him an opportunity there," Mackanin said. "I wanted him in the game late, to face their righthanded closer or set-up guy. That was my reasoning."

Former Villanova football star and Cape May, N.J., native Matt Szczur made his first trip back to Philadelphia as a professional player this week, although Chicago manager Joe Maddon never found a spot to get his reserve outfielder into any of the four games between the Phillies and Cubs.

The 26-year-old Szczur has spent the 2015 season between Triple A Iowa and as a bench player on the Cubs loaded roster. Szczur is hitting .232 with one home run in 42 games with the Cubs; he hit .292 with eight home runs and stole 20 bases in 70 games at Triple A this season.

Szczur, a 2007 graduate of Lower Cape May High School, is among a strong contingent of South Jersey natives who have broken into the big leagues in the last decade, including Angels reigning AL MVP Mike Trout (who Szczur played against in high school), 2009 Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey (Yankees), Sean Doolittle (Athletics), and Todd Frazier (Reds).

"It's a sneaky area for sure," Szczur said. "South Jersey produces a lot of athletes, not just baseball but football as well. Because we had a lot of guys from South Jersey at Villanova and we ended up winning a national championship. So, I feel like we just produce grinders. Guys that don't quit. Blue-collar guys. Guys who just work hard."

Szczur, a high school catcher, played wide receiver, running back and also lined up at quarterback during his successful collegiate football career at Villanova (2007-10). He racked up 270 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns in Nova's 2009 national championship win. He also made national headlines when he donated bone barrow to a one-year-old baby in the same year.

Szczur said his parents made the three-hour round-trip trek from the family's home in Erma, N.J., for each of the games during the Cubs stay in Philadelphia this weekend.

Blog: ph.ly/HighCheese