Howard whiffs at record-setting pace in World Series
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 | 10:20 PM ET
The Associated Press
Philadelphia's Ryan Howard has struck out 12 times in the first five games, tying Willie Wilson for most whiffs in a World Series. (Nick Laham/Getty Images) Ryan Howard's World Series can be summed up like this: swing and miss.
Over and over, Howard has gone down swinging against the New York Yankees. Overall, the Philadelphia Phillies' slugger has struck out 12 times in the first five games, tying Willie Wilson for most whiffs in a World Series.
Wilson did it with Kansas City against the Phillies in 1980.
Howard has been prone to striking out throughout his career. The 2006 National League MVP fanned 199 times in 2007 and exactly the same amount in 2008. Only Arizona's Mark Reynolds has struck out more times in one season.
But Howard usually mixes in a few towering homers and other big hits to go along with all his strikeouts. Not against the Yankees. Howard is batting just .158 (3-for-19) with no homers and one RBI in the Series. Heck, he has more stolen bases (one) than long balls.
"Ryan Howard is more than just a power hitter," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Tuesday. "When he's really good, he's a very good, polished-looking hitter. But at the same time, when he's struggling, I think it's ... the pitcher and the fact that he's not following the ball."
Maybe the six-day layoff after the NL Championship Series affected Howard because he was having an incredible post-season to this point.
Howard was named MVP of the NLCS after hitting .333 (5-for-15) with two homers, one double, one triple and eight runs batted-in against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He batted .375 (6-for-16) with three doubles and six RBIs in the division series against Colorado.
Tied Gehrig's record
Howard had at least one RBI in eight straight post-season games, tying the major league record first set by Lou Gehrig more than seven decades ago and later tied by Alex Rodriguez this year.
Now he's lost his stroke at the worst time. The defending champion Phillies trail New York 3-2 heading into Game 6 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night.
"I think we've made good pitches to him," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I think we've changed speeds on him, we've moved the ball around him.
"He's an extremely dangerous hitter, and if you don't make pitches you're not going to get him out, and he proved that in the first two rounds. But our guys have done a good job of just moving the ball around on him."
Howard ripped a double off CC Sabathia his first time up and doubled off Phil Coke in his last at-bat in Philadelphia's 6-1 win in the opener. Since then, he's 1-for-14 with a bunch of strikeouts. Howard struck out six straight times in one stretch, including four in Game 2.
He broke that streak by popping out with two runners on in a key spot in Game 3 and then fanned his next two trips.
The left-handed-hitting Howard has faced all lefties except for A.J. Burnett and Mariano Rivera. He's 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and two walks against Burnett, and looked at a third strike in his only at-bat facing Rivera.
Somehow Howard has been successful against Sabathia. He's 2-for-6 with three strikeouts against the Yankees ace. Andy Pettitte, who'll start Game 6, struck him out twice and retired him on an infield fly.
"We're making some pretty quality pitches against him," Pettitte said. "In the first game, CC left a few balls in the heart of the plate, and he hit them hard. And I don't think that there's been a whole lot of balls left in the middle of the plate there for him to hit."
