Ryan Howard was the show last night in Philadelphia's 9-6 win over Washington. He followed a solo second-deck home run with a grand slam that reached the third deck. Interviewed later, the guy who caught the ball, who was at the game on his buddy's season tickets, said that his hands were still shaking. And they were. Howard's grand slam was his third of the season (two against the same pitcher, last night's Shairon Martis) and eighth of his career. In far fewer at-bats, he has now passed Michael Jack Schmidt as leader on the Phillies' grand slam list. On a night when ace Cole Hamels, who previously had a career 0.39 ERA against Washington, gave up an uncharacteristic six runs, every bit of Howard's power was needed.
And Antonio Bastardo it is. The 23-year-old lefty, no doubt the hot hand, will make his major league debut on Tuesday in San Diego. Let's go, Antonio!
