PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Howard hit his 20th homer of the season in Tuesday night's 3-2 loss to the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park.
It is the 11th time Howard has hit 20 or more homers in a season, so the accomplishment in and of itself is not unusual. But considering that he has spent the 2016 campaign in a reserve role, it is noteworthy that he has hit 20 in just 276 at-bats.
"It's cool," Howard said. "It just goes to show, just keep trying to [plug] away and just keep swinging and doing what you do. Even though it's a lot less at-bats, hopefully, it shows something."
Howard is averaging a home run every 13.8 at-bats this season, his best rate since 2009, when he averaged a homer every 13.7 at-bats.
He averaged a homer every 23.2 at-bats the previous three seasons.
Howard is hitting .196 with 20 homers, 45 RBIs and a .692 OPS, but he has hit .299 with nine homers, 20 RBIs and a .992 OPS in 87 at-bats since July 3.
Howard was 1-for-20 with 13 strikeouts in his career against Nationals ace Max Scherzer before hitting the two-run homer to left in the seventh.
Phillies manager Pete Mackanin had played Howard over Tommy Joseph because "a lot of people don't have good numbers against [Scherzer] anyway. Lefties at least hit him better."
"Felt good, but I was able to make the adjustment," Howard said. "Sometimes I think it's just being a little bit too quick, but I just try to slow everything down and relax and see the ball."