Phillies lead past Cardinals 4-1

ST. LOUIS -- Ryan Howard homered and drove in three runs and rookie David Buchanan pitched into the eighth inning Thursday night, sparking the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Howard, a St. Louis native, has hit safely in 22 of 27 regular season games at Busch Stadium. He has 38 RBIs in St. Louis and a .374 batting average.

Howard also has been hot on the road. In his last 15 games away from Philadelphia, he is hitting .350 with three homers and 14 RBIs.

Buchanan (3-3) made his deepest start yet, pitching 7 2-3 innings. He threw 105 pitches and kept the Cardinals off balance and off the scoreboard until the eighth. Buchanan allowed four hits and a walk while striking out four.

Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth to pick up 17th save in 19 opportunities.

Shelby Miller (7-6) gave up seven hits and three walks in 6 2-3 innings.