Ryan Howard's three-run homer turned the tide for the Phillies. (L-Rey/Wikimedia Commons)

The NL East champion Phillies scored 10 runs on 12 hits in innings 6-8, while ace Roy Halladay picked up the win after recovering from a shaky start.

Halladay retired his final 21 batters to finish with eight strikeouts, and allowed three runs on just three hits in eight innings.

With Philadelphia down 3-1, and one out in the sixth, Ryan Howard blasted a full-count three-run home run into right field to put the Phillies ahead by one. Howard also had a sacrifice fly to score Jimmy Rollins in the seventh inning.

Two batters after Howard, Raul Ibanez feasted on a Kyle Lohse changeup for a two-run homer to extend the lead to 6-3. Lohse allowed five hits in the inning before being pulled. The Cardinals starter struck out four hitters, gave up seven hits and allowed six runs — five earned — in 5 1/3 innings.

Philadelphia had five players record multi-hit games, led by Chase Utley and Shane Victorino with three apiece.

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa chose not to start Matt Holliday in Saturday’s game because of discomfort in the left fielder's right hand. Lance Berkman started in Holliday's place and blasted a three-run home run to give St. Louis a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Holliday made a late appearance when he struck out swinging to end the game.

The Cardinals are scheduled to send Chris Carpenter to face Cliff Lee when Game 2 of the best-of-five series starts on Sunday at 5:37 p.m.

Key Moment: After allowing four of the first seven Cardinals batters on base — including the three-run shot to Berkman — Halladay settled down to retire the next 21 Cardinals before exiting after eight innings.

Game-Changer: Howard's go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning woke up Philly’s bats and the team's offense rode that momentum to the finish.

Unsung Heroes: Ibanez and Victorino combined to go 5-for-8 at the plate and drove in five runs. Ibanez's two-run blast gave the Phillies some breathing room, while Victorino came up with one timely hit after another.

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