Ryan Howard is Heating Up & The Rest Of The Lineup Is Watching

As the Phillies struggled to score runs over the last couple of weeks, everyone has been waiting for one of the big bats to step up and pull them out of their horrid slump. Ryan Howard may be ready to do that.

The Phillies were down 4-0 early in Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins and it looked as though the team could be in for another frustrating evening.

Then in the third inning, with two out and a runner on, Howard hit a 2-run homer to put the Phillies back in the game. It was the beginning of a strong comeback for the offense; something they hadn’t done in a long time. The Phillies went on to score 10 runs in the 10-8 victory. It was the first time they had scored that many runs since May 17th.

Howard started heating up over the past week with 2 homeruns and 8 RBIs in his last four games. And when Howard gets locked in, he is certainly capable of carrying the team.

He can also relieve the pressure from the rest of the lineup. Good hitting is contagious, just as bad hitting can be contagious.

Earlier this season, when the Phillies were scoring runs like crazy, it seemed that nobody could do wrong. And when the team struggled to score any runs over the past 3 weeks, it seemed that nobody could do right.

When a team is in a terrible funk like the one the Phillies have been in, batters will press harder to produce. When they don’t produce, they press harder yet, and their problems at the plate only grow.

But after seeing something go right early in the game, in this case Howard’s home run, the rest of the team loosened up and put up a 10 spot.

This is exactly what the Phillies offense needs to get back on track.