PHILADELPHIA -- With the bases loaded, Ryan Howard knew he was going to get a pitch to hit. It was just a matter of waiting for the right one. Howard hit a grand slam, capping a five-run rally in the eighth inning that lifted the Philadelphia Phillies over the Houston Astros 6-5 on Thursday night. "I knew going in he was going to bury some sliders and I had to keep off the sliders," Howard said. "Bases loaded, I knew at some point he had to give me something to hit. Hes got to give me a strike." Chris Carter hit two homers and drove in four runs for Houston, which lost its eighth straight in Philadelphia. "This was a pretty tough loss," Astros manager Bo Porter said. Carlos Ruiz and Ben Revere each had two hits as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep. Mario Hollands (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 27th save in 30 chances. Howard connected with two outs on a full-count pitch from Tony Sipp (2-2). "The matchup was what we wanted," Porter said. "He beat the best guy we have down there." Marc Krauss also homered for Houston. Philadelphia trailed 5-1 entering the eighth after Colin McHugh threw seven strong innings for the Astros. Houston reliever Josh Fields gave up hits to three of the four batters he faced, including Cody Asches RBI single that made it 5-2. Sipp allowed a single to Jimmy Rollins to load the bases with one out. After Chase Utley flied out, Howard homered into the seats in left-centre field. "I hit it pretty flush," Howard said. "I got it pretty good. Off the bat, yeah, I pretty much knew. But that wind started kicking up a little bit. I was happy it was enough." Howard pointed to his family after crossing home plate and then took a curtain call. It was the third homer and 11th RBI in 12 games since manager Ryne Sandberg benched the struggling slugger for three games, July 23-25. Howard has endured boos and some negative reaction to comments he had made regarding the treatment he has received. "Its unfortunate, to be honest with you, that thats what happens," Howard said. "But Im going to go out there and continue to play. I understand what it takes to play the game. It wasnt there early, but I just needed it to be there once and it was there for me, so Im going to try to build off that." Howard also drove in the winning run in the Phillies 2-1, 15-inning win over Houston on Tuesday. Sipp and the Astros werent able to keep him down this week. "I hold myself to a high standard, so I have to make sure it doesnt happen again," Sipp said. Carter hit his second homer of the game and 24th of the season, a two-run drive in the third. He leads the majors with 11 home runs since the start of July. TRAINERS ROOM Astros: Reliever Josh Zeid had the first of two foot operations on his right foot on Wednesday, and the Astros deemed it successful. Zeid will have the same surgery on his left foot in six weeks. The right-hander appeared in 23 games this season with a 6.79 ERA in 20 2/3 innings. He last pitched on July 24. ... Outfielder George Springer will rejoin the Astros in Houston on Friday, but his status will be evaluated prior to the game. He was on pace to be activated from the DL (quadriceps), but his return is in question after he left Wednesdays rehab start at Single-A Quad Cities because of discomfort. Phillies: Cliff Lees season officially is over. That was the indication on Wednesday when his locker was cleaned out, and the Phillies made the announcement on Thursday that Lee wont pitch again in 2014 due to a Grade 2 strain of his left elbow. Lee will require rest but not surgery and will begin a throwing program in September or October with the hope that he will be healthy for spring training. UP NEXT Astros: Houston returns home to host intrastate rival Texas on Friday night in a matchup of the teams with the worst records in the AL West. Astros left-hander Brett Oberholtzer (4-7, 4.17) faces right-hander Miles Mikolas (1-4, 7.29). Oberholtzer, in his fourth stint in the big leagues this season, is 4-1 with a 3.08 ERA in his last eight starts. Phillies: Philadelphia hosts the Mets for the first of four on Friday night. Right-hander A.J. Burnett (6-11, 4.16) opposes New York righty Bartolo Colon (10-9, 4.12) in a meeting of veterans who are a combined 78 years old. Two-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star Roy Halladay also will be on the mound for the Phillies, but in a ceremonial capacity. Halladay will throw out the first pitch as the Phillies welcome back former players on alumni weekend. Travelling MAN Phillies starter Sean OSullivan gave up three homers in six innings. He was summoned from Toledo, Ohio, where the Phillies Triple-A team was playing, after Philadelphia traded pitcher Roberto Hernandez to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier Thursday. OSullivan had started the second game of a doubleheader on June 28 against Atlanta in his only other big league appearance this season. He was just about to take a nap around 1:00 Thursday afternoon when he got the call to catch a plane to Philadelphia. He arrived at the airport around 5:30, but it took him 30 minutes to take the short trip to the ballpark due to rush-hour traffic, giving him about an hour to get ready for a start. He wasnt deterred by the crazy travel schedule though. "I could have shown up at 7:02 and I would have been ready to go," he said. "Im just happy to be here, happy for the opportunity." TOUGH LUCK McHugh was in line for his first victory since June 3 after allowing one run and five hits, striking out eight, and walking none. He is 0-6 in his last nine starts and has a 1.86 ERA on the road overall. "McHugh did a great job but our bullpen wasnt able to hold it together," Porter said. UNUSUAL DOUBLE PLAY Philadelphias Grady Sizemore was involved in an unusual 6-5-6 double play in the second inning. Asche hit a soft liner behind second base where shortstop Marvin Gonzalez was positioned. Sizemore held up at second base to see if Gonzalez would catch the ball, but when it dropped in front of Gonzalez he was caught in no mans land. Gonzalez stepped on second to force out Carlos Ruiz, who was on first, and then got Sizemore out in a rundown. That twin killing was one of six double plays in the game, four of which were converted by Philadelphia to tie a season high. BASES IN GOOD HANDS The Phillies brought out three recipients of the Purple Heart to change the bases after the third inning. Purple Heart recipients Shawn Lees, Bryon Yoder and Carol Eggert changed the bases while receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 26,609 fans and applause from the Astros and Phillies players. China Shoes Store . JOHNS, N. Air Max From China . Barnard, 28, was 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA in three appearances, including two starts, with San Angel o this season. He struck out 19 batters and walked just one in 17 innings pitched. He has previous American Association experience with the Lincoln Saltdogs, El Paso Diablos and Amarillo Sox. https://www.chinashoes.us/. The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. China Shoes Online .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Jordan From China . Noah finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score. Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for Chicago, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers, Carlos Boozer added 18 points, D.Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - The Oklahoma City Thunder remained hot with their main cogs back in the lineup. Russell Westbrook had 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and the Thunder routed the Phoenix Suns 112-88 on Sunday night. Kevin Durant posted 23 points and eight boards for the Thunder, who are 6-1 since he returned from offseason foot surgery, winning the last six. Combination of defending at a high level and moving the basketball, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of the win. Gerald Green tallied 15 points and seven boards to lead Phoenix, which has lost five straight games. After Green hit a 3-pointer to get the Suns within 12-9 early in the first quarter, the Thunder went on a 9-3 run to create some distance. Westbrook netted the final five points during thhe flurry, including a three- point play to cap it and stake the Thunder to a 21-12 lead midway through the first.dddddddddddd Reggie Jacksons jumper at the first-quarter buzzer helped the Thunder take a 41-29 cushion into the second. They opened the second on a 13-4 surge to take a commanding advantage. Kendrick Perkins hook shot concluded the burst and gave the Thunder a 54-33 lead. The Thunder led 70-48 at the break, 89-64 after three and cruised to the easy triumph in the fourth. Game Notes The Thunder held a commanding 63-40 rebounding edge and a 50-40 margin on points in the paint ... Oklahoma City was 30-of-34 from the foul line ... The Thunder shot 48.8 percent from the floor and held Phoenix to 34.3 percent from the field. ' ' '