BY SCOTT LAUBERATLANTA -- A few postgame notes after the Phillies won again in the deep South and returned to first place in the NL East. Make that 7-0 this season at Turner Field. "I don't even want to make a remark about that," superstitious Charlie Manuel said, not wanting to tempt fate.
* Ryan Howard: How hot is the Big Man? His two biggest hits tonight -- a seventh-inning triple and an eighth-inning homer -- came against lefties, Will Ohman and Mike Gonzalez. He's batting .396 (21-for-53) with eight homers and 22 RBIs in 14 games this month to lift his overall average to .249. For his career, he's a .320 hitter with 41 homers, 101 RBIs and 81 runs in 118 games over the season's final month. "I have no idea," Howard said of his September success. "Why even question it?" Manuel ventured a guess. "He wants to go to arbitration." Everyone in the room laughed, but chances are, after leading the majors in homers and RBIs again, Howard will win another arbitration case. "I talk about being a carrier, and Ryan's a carrier," Manuel said. "He's the guy who knocks in 130 to 160 [runs]. He comes up big in the big moment."
* Jamie Moyer: Couldn't squeeze much in The Paper about Moyer, but he clearly didn't have his best stuff. He walked four batters and allowed six runs in 5-2/3 innings, and Manuel thought he may have been feeling the aftereffects of pitching on short rest last week. I'll try to ask Moyer about it tomorrow.
* Pat Burrell: He went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts, tying a club record set by Jim Thome on July 2, 2004. Burrell is batting .250, one point higher than Howard.
* Jayson Werth: After going 3-for-4, he's batting .424 (14-for-33) against the Braves this season. More importantly, though, Werth is batting .329 (27-for-82) with six homers and 17 RBIs in 23 games since taking over as the full-time right fielder Aug. 22 when Geoff Jenkins suffered a strained right hip flexor.
* Brad Lidge: He threw 33 pitches (only 15 strikes) in the white-knuckle ninth inning. It was the most pitches he has thrown in an outing this season, likely making him unavailable tomorrow.
* The Mets: They're seemingly in panic mode -- again. Jerry Manuel called a 15-minute team meeting before tonight's 1-0 loss in Washington, and David Wright said this: "I've said all along this is a little bump in the road. This is not about what Philadelphia does. This is about what the New York Mets do." The Mets also lost outfielder Fernando Tatis for the season with a separated shoulder.
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