The Philadelphia Phillies completed the sweep of the Houston Astros on Sunday and moved to only 1 game out of the National League Wild Card. Ryan Howard helped his team win by smashing his 57th homerun of the season off of Astros pitcher Wandy Rodriguez. The league leader in homeruns also added to his total RBIs and run production. Howard finished the game 1-3 with 2 walks.

As a sophomore, Ryan Howard has a great chance at winning the MVP if the Phillies make the playoffs. MVP awards are rarely given to players on non-contending teams, but in this case an exception might be made because Pujols missed some time with injury.

The Phillies come how now to play a 3 game series against the NL Central last place Chicago Cubs. John Lieber takes the mound at 7:05 PM EST.