PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Howard hit his major league-leading 48th homer, Joe Blanton pitched six effective innings and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched a tie for the NL East title with an 8-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
The Phillies reduced their magic number for winning their second straight division championship to two, which shrunk to one after the New York Mets lost to Florida. Philadelphia leads the Mets by two games with two to play.
