Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard set a major-league record with his 196th strikeout of the season on Thursday.
Howard, last season's most valuable player in the National League, struck out against starter John Smoltz in the third inning of a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves before a crowd of 40,589 at Citizens Bank Park.
Ryan Howard homers in the first inning of Thursday's 6-4 Phillies win.
(Rusty Kennedy/Associated Press)
In doing so, he broke the single-season mark of 195 strikeouts established by Adam Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds in 2004.
Howard struck out again in the fifth inning.
"I don't even think about it," he said. "We're winning ball games and that's all that matters."
Earlier, Howard helped stake the Phillies to a 4-0 lead with his 44th home run this season, a two-run jolt to right field off Smoltz in the first inning.
With the win, Philadelphia pulled even with the New York Mets atop the NL East Division, and remained one game behind the San Diego Padres in the wild-card race with three games to go.
"It's a good feeling," Howard said. "But really, we haven't done anything.
"We have three games left. This is what it's all about."
Howard is hitting .266 with 44 HRs, 130 RBIs and 91 runs scored in 141 games with the Phillies this season, his fourth in the majors.
With files from the Associated Press
