Ryan Howard smacked his 54th home run to help his Philadelphia Phillies to a 14-8 win over the Florida Marlins.
Howard broke Mike Schmidt’s club record of 48 home runs earlier this season and has used a stellar sophomore season to become a finalist for the 2006 National League Hank Aaron Award.
The first phase of balloting for the Hank Aaron Award was conducted from Aug. 2-31, allowing fans to vote for the most outstanding offensive performer in each league.
Albert Pujols, who drove in a run in the St. Louis Cardinals’ 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday is also a finalist.
