Right swing philosophy works against lefty

CLEVELAND - Wait a minute.

These guys aren't supposed to be able to hit lefties.

Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell did last night, propelling the Phillies to a 9-6 win over the Indians and lefty starter Jason Stanford.

The Phillies were 9-17 against lefthanded starters in large part because their middle bashers hadn't bashed much before last night.

Burrell, hitting .156 against lefties, sliced two-run double in the first inning. Howard, at .205, mashed a solo homer in the sixth, a 451-foot, second-deck shot to rightfield that recalled blasts by Jim Thome, whose homers helped build Jacobs Field.

That offense afforded 22-year-old Double A call-up Kyle Kendrick his first major-league win, having pitched six innings and allowed three runs for his second straight start.

"It was big," Burrell allowed. "It's nice to get a two-run lead in the first inning the young guy pitching."

"Maybe that helped him relax a little bit," said Chase Utley, a lefty hitter who is crushing lefty pitching at a .337 clip.

His two-run single in the seventh off lefty specialist Aaron Fultz, a teammate the previous two seasons, made it 6-2 in the moment – important runs, since the undependable bullpen proved ever more undependable.

Ryan Madson – perhaps squeezed in a two-out, one-on at-bat with Trot Nixon, whom he eventually walked – gave up three runs after that at-bat, which made it 6-5. He was rescued by . . .

Jose Mesa?

Yes, former Indians and Phillies closer Mesa entered with runners on the corners and, amid a chorus of boos from Indians fans – he blew the seventh game of the 1997 World Series – retired Casey Blake.

Howard hit a two-run double in the ninth, needed insurance for Antonio Alfonseca, who gave up a run in the frame. He might not get the chance next time; Manuel, who once managed Mesa in Cleveland, seems fond of him.

"I almost brought (Mesa) him back" for the ninth, Manuel admitted, but Alfonseca has five saves while Brett Myers and Tom Gordon have been injured: "That's been working."

It worked again. It mattered because the guys who hadn't hit lefties hit them.

The early offense pushed the Phillies to just their 10th win in 27 games against lefthanded starters. Stanford (1-1) is a career minor-leaguer, sure, but that hasn't mattered much in the past.

Burrell hit .290 off lefties last season and was a .280 career hitter against them.

Howard also homered off lefty starter Cliff Lee in Monday's loss. He struggled as a rookie against lefties in 2005 but was at .279 when he won the MVP last year – a year spent answering questions about hitting lefties; questions that seemed answered in the negative the first few weeks of this season, creating a mantra among scouts:

Howard can't hit lefties.

"That's what I've heard," Howard said.

Maybe, now, he's heard wrong.

Phillers

Pitching coach

Rich Dubee

indicated that

Tom Gordon

was closer to returning than

Brett Myers

, since Gordon is throwing longer and harder in rehab sessions. Both should be back by late next week . . . Third-base coach

Steve Smith

served the second of the three-game suspension last night for his actions Sunday, when he was ejected. Bench coach

Jimy Williams

replaced him . . . Shortstop

Jimmy Rollins

' bunt hit on the first pitch of the game was inspired by

Grady Sizemore

's bunt hit on the first pitch the Phillies threw in Monday's game.

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