Diamondbacks find way to stop Howard

Ryan Howard couldn’t save the Phillies from losing to Randy Johnson on this night.

After beating Arizona earlier this month with a pinch-hit grand slam, Howard lined into a double play as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning off closer Jose Valverde to end a Philadelphia rally.

That allowed the Diamondbacks to hang on, 4-3, giving this matchup of aging lefties to Johnson.

Johnson returned from tendinitis to toss one-hit ball over six shutout innings, and Eric Byrnes homered twice to lead the Diamondbacks to a win over Jamie Moyer and the Phillies on Wednesday night. Arizona swept the three-game series and extended its winning streak to seven games.

After pinch-runner Michael Bourn stole second with one out in the ninth, Howard hit a line drive to second baseman Orlando Hudson stationed in short right field. Bourn was doubled off to give Valverde his 19th save.

“I knew he was over there,” Arizona Manager Bob Melvin said of Howard. “It was just a matter of time until we were going to get him.”

The 43-year-old Johnson (3-2) and the 44-year-old Moyer (5-4), former teammates in Seattle, combined to set a record for the matchup of the oldest lefties in history. At a combined 88 years 90 days, Johnson and Moyer broke the record set the last time these two faced off this month.