Howard drives Phillies to victory

PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Howard knows two ways to take the focus off his anemic average.

Go deep. Drive in runs.

“I can’t control what people look at,” Howard said.

Howard homered twice, drove in three runs and continued to inch his batting average toward a more respectable level, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

“He does about twice as much as other guys do,” Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel said.

Howard lined a two-run shot to left-center against Braden Looper (9-7) in the first and connected again in the sixth. He now leads the National League with 27 homers, two better than teammate Chase Utley, and 83 runs batted in.

Howard was batting in the .160s in early May, was at .215 entering this month and was upset after hearing boos from finicky fans. But the former most valuable player is batting .353 with eight homers and 18 RBIs over a 13-game hitting streak that has lifted his average to .234.