Ryan Howard's success vs. St. Louis Cardinals doesn't translate to Philadelphia Phillies' wins

ST. LOUIS -- Despite St. Louis native Ryan Howard's impressive numbers against his hometown Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies continue to struggle in Busch Stadium, dropping three of four in the series completed Thursday.

Entering Thursday's 4-0 loss, the Phillies were one of four National League East teams with winning records, but they now have not won a series in St. Louis since May of 2012, and at 16-13, they could not keep pace with Washington or the New York Mets, who entered the day 20-8 and 17-9, respectively.

Now, Philadelphia heads to Miami for a three-game weekend series with the Marlins, who were 14-12 entering Thursday.

The Phillies blew a ninth-inning lead in Wednesday's loss in St. Louis, despite getting Howard's 23rd career home run against the team he grew up cheering, and Philadelphia pitching was not good except in Tuesday's 1-0 victory.

"Kind of getting that consistency and getting that feel took a little longer today than I would have hoped," Thursday's losing pitcher Jerad Eickhoff said of his fourth loss in five decisions.