Blanton Mows Down Cardinals

Joe Blanton didn't exactly make a great first (or second) impression.

The burly right-hander, who came to the Phillies via trade from Oakland, was ineffective in two starts with his new club.

In his red pinstripes debut, Blanton allowed five runs in five Average Joe innings against the Mets.

In his last start, Blanton gave up two runs in two innings against the Braves before a long rain delay ended his outing.

So, Phillies fans weren't very impressed. Blanton, riding a 5-12 record into Friday night, needed to show us something good.

And he delivered.

Blanton pitched seven strong innings and Ryan Howard slugged his 31st home run as the Phillies edged the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1, Friday night.

Blanton was dealing the entire night. He allowed only one run - a solo homer off the bat of Ryan Ludwick (who, by the way, is officially a Phillies killer).

A contact pitcher, Blanton showed some moxy when we got into some early-inning trouble. In the third inning, Blanton struck out Albert Pujols with two outs and two on, using a filthy slider that started over the plate and moved inside to paint the corner.

All told, Blanton struck out five en route to his first win with the Phillies.

Greg Dobbs got the Phillies on the board with a solo shot off Braden Looper in the third inning. Howard cracked one over the right-center field wall in the fifth to make it 2-0.

Howard, who went 1-for-1 with three walks, is 4-for-5 lifetime against Looper... and all of his hits have been of the home run variety.

Brad Lidge closed the door in the ninth inning to record his 27th save in as many tries.

Chase Utley doubled in the ninth inning to extend his eight-game hitting streak. Shane Victorino had his career-high 12-game streak snapped thanks to an 0-for-4 performance.