Philadelphia 5, Milwaukee 3

Roy Halladay struck out nine over eight solid innings and Ryan Howard belted a three-run homer as the Philadelphia Phillies continued their charge toward their fifth consecutive National League East title with a 5-3 triumph over the host Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.

Pete Orr, playing in place of the concussed Chase Utley, had a season-high three hits, and Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz added RBI singles as Philadelphia registered its 10th win in 12 games.

The Phillies, whose magic number to clinch a playoff spot is three, increased their lead to 11 games over Atlanta in the NL East.
 
Halladay (17-5) got the better of former Toronto Blue Jays teammate Shaun Marcum (12-6) by allowing one run on four hits.
 
The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner received all the offense he would need in the first when Howard deposited Marcum's fastball into the seats in right field for his 32nd homer of the season.
 
Yuniesky Betancourt had an RBI single and a sacrifice fly for Milwaukee, which has scored seven runs during its four-game losing skid.

The Brewers saw their lead in the NL Central shrink to seven games over the Cardinals, who defeated the Braves 4-3 in 10 innings Friday.

• Milwaukee will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Brewers have a W/L % of .593 after a win and .567 after a loss.
• Philadelphia will play their next game on the road against Milwaukee. The Phillies have a W/L % of .598 after a win and .776 after a loss.