PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard took a mighty cut, dropped his bat and admired the shot.
Unlike his season-ending strikeout last October, the big slugger came through in a clutch spot this time, and Roy Halladay overcame a shaky start as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 on Saturday in the opener of their NL division series.
This time around, Howard delivered a go-ahead, three-run homer in a five-run sixth inning that sent Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy.
“I left last year in the past,” Howard said. “You can’t let what happened last year affect this year. It’s a fresh start.”
Lance Berkman hit the first three- run homer off Halladay in three years to put the wild-card Cardinals up 3-0 in the first inning.
“I couldn’t think of a worse start and putting your team in a hole like that,” Halladay said. “But you get to this point, you’re not going to pack it in.”
Halladay, who went eight innings, didn’t allow a runner after Skip Schumaker led off the second with a single.
“That’s why he’s the best in the game,” Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols said. “We wanted to keep adding on it, but we just never put that inning together again.”
Raul Ibañez hit a two-run shot off Kyle Lohse to cap the Phillies’ burst in the sixth, and Shane Victorino had three hits and two RBIs.
The Cardinals scored three times in the ninth off relievers Michael Stutes and Ryan Madson, highlighted by Schumaker’s two-run double.
Star of the game
Halladay retires last 21 batters
Roy Halladay, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who played at Arvada West High School, retired the last 21 batters he faced as the NL East champions opened the series with a victory. Halladay allowed three runs and three hits and struck out eight in eight innings.
Key moment
Howard homer highlights rout
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard shook off his season- ending strikeout last October in the championship series to hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in a five-run sixth inning. Howard worked a full count before launching a towering drive into the second deck in right-center.
