May 5 -- GAME 23 WRAP: NO AVERAGE JOE

BY SCOTT LAUBER

ST. LOUIS -- So, if you hadn't already noticed, Ryan Howard is kind of a big deal around here.

Howard grew up in St. Louis back in the days when Ozzie Smith and Whitey Herzog were synonymous with the Cardinals, and he often talks about going to games at old Busch Stadium with his dad and his brothers. Howard's family still lives here, and in the offseason, he does, too. A few years ago, before he signed his three-year, $54 million contract extension, Howard built a home in a nearby suburb. And, clearly, he enjoys playing in The Loo. In 16 career games at new Busch, he's batting .383 (23-for-60) with seven home runs and 28 RBIs.

Those numbers include his grand slam against Kyle Lohse in last night's 6-1 victory. With that homer, Howard tied Mike Schmidt's franchise record of seven career grand slams. The difference: It took Schmidty 8,352 at-bats to hit seven slams. Howard has done it in only 2,164. Because of that -- and Howard's fairly candid pregame comments about wanting to be known as an all-around player (just like Albert Pujols) -- I focused the game story in today's News Journal around Big No. 6.

But I could've just as easily written about Joe Blanton.

Finally, in his fifth start of the season, Blanton (AP photo) gave the Phillies exactly what they've been craving: A quality start. Entering last night's game, the Phillies' starters had combined for a 6.71 ERA, worst in the majors. But Blanton allowed only one run and four hits in six innings. He worked out of jams -- a two-on, two-out situation in the fifth; a bases-loaded, one-out mess in the sixth -- against a strong Cards lineup (Pujols, Chris Duncan, Ryan Ludwick and Rick Ankiel are a formidable 3-4-5-6). And for those who like their irony, Blanton, last year's big trade-deadline acquisition, defeated Lohse, the Phillies' top midseason pitching addition in 2007. If the Phillies had been able to re-sign Lohse before last season, they may have never traded for Blanton, who, you may recall, pitched pretty well in the postseason. Anyway, after the game, Blanton said a minor mechanical adjustment helped him throw a more effective sinker. Mostly, though, he said the Phillies' starters have confidence that things are going to get better.

"We know we can pitch," Blanton said. "We know what we did at the end of last season, and we know we can do that again. It's just a matter of us putting a few good runs together. We're not going to go through the season with 7.00 or 9.00 or 12.00 ERAs."

You'll find more from Blanton, along with a few quotes from struggling Chan Ho Park and a few details on Ankiel's frightening headfirst crash into the outfield wall, in the Phillies' notebook in today's paper. And I'll try to get you a longer, more detailed, post about Park later today or tomorrow, certainly before he faces the Mets tomorrow night at Citi Field.

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On tap for today: Cole Hamels will throw a bullpen session, and if he believes his sprained left ankle has healed enough for him to field his position, he'll start Friday night against the Braves at the Bank. Check back here later today to get the latest on Hamels.

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Programming note: Please join me at noon tomorrow for our weekly Phillies chat at www.delawareonline.com. I'll be live from La Guardia Airport in New York. (My flight is scheduled to land at 11:30 a.m., so if I'm late, blame US Airways!) We've gotten some great questions over the past few weeks, so please join the discussion.

Also, don't forget that Philled In is now on Twitter and Facebook.

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Oh, almost forgot: Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!

More in a bit from Busch.