Howard’s slam caps Phillies’ winning rally

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Ryan Howard hit a grand slam, capping a five-run rally in the eighth inning that lifted the Philadelphia Phillies over the Houston Astros 6-5 on Thursday night.

Chris Carter hit two homers and drove in four runs for Houston, which lost its eighth straight in Philadelphia.

Carlos Ruiz and Ben Revere each had two hits as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep.

Mario Hollands (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 27th save in 30 chances.

Howard connected with two outs on a full-count pitch from Tony Sipp (2-2).

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