Howard’s slam outpaces Blackmon’s 3 HRs

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies got a little nostalgic Friday night.

Prior to their series-opening 10-6 win over the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park, the Phils inducted Jim Thome into the club’s Wall of Fame. Not three hours later, the man who took Thome’s job back in 2005, Ryan Howard, looked like his old self and hammered a grand slam into the Rockies’ bullpen, 455 feet away per Statcast™, to break a tie for good.

“You want to go out there and try to get a win on a special night like this,” Howard said. “Being able to get something to hit and having it land on the other side of the fence — it’s the bonus.”

After circling the bases, Howard re-emerged from the dugout for a curtain call. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done so.

“It’s been a while,” Howard said. “Felt great. I mean, to be able to do it in that situation in a night like tonight, it was pretty cool.”

Howard’s slam, the 14th of his career and first since 2014, continued the Rockies’ downward spiral. Colorado had pulled a game over .500 and three games back of a Wild Card spot, but the Rockies have lost seven of nine games since.

Friday’s pitching matchup was anything but nostalgic, featuring a pair of rookies in the Rockies’ slumping Jon Gray and the Phils’ Jake Thompson, making his second MLB start.

Thompson bounced back nicely from a 4 1/3-inning, six-run debut to toss five innings of three-run ball, though not without the red-hot Charlie Blackmon touching him for a home run. The Rockies’ center fielder added two more big flies in the seventh and ninth for his first career three-home run game. Over the last week, Blackmon is 19-for-33 (.576) with six home runs.

“I felt pretty good — I imagine that’s what it’s like to be Nolan Arenado on a day-to-day basis — that’s as close as I get,” said Blackmon, referring to the Rockies’ third baseman, who has 30 homers this season.

But with Gray throwing 111 pitches and lasting just 4 1/3 innings, the Rockies didn’t get the starting pitching a team that was coming off a 4-hour, 3-minute game in 100-plus degree heat needed to keep up its energy level.

“No question, you’re already a little bit low and then you’re standing around out there on defense, it doesn’t help,” …

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