"The ball came off Jose Bautista's bat with a thunderclap and the huge Canada Day crowd rose to its feet to celebrate as the Toronto Blue Jays took a one-run lead on the Phillies in the bottom of the seventh inning Friday afternoon.

Every set of eyes in Rogers Centre was trained on Bautista as he rounded the bases after his 25th home run.

Well, almost every set of eyes.

As Bautista circled the bases, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard stood as still as an icicle near his position. He stared off into the distance in a state of stunned disbelief. The lead that the Phillies had forged in the top of the inning was gone faster than you can say, "Yo, Kyle, what are you thinking challenging that guy!?"

"It was one of those situations where we just worked hard to get the lead and now Bautista hits a home run," Howard said. "It is [stunning], but at the same time you have to bounce back. You can't get down. You've got to fight back and go answer it."

Howard did answer it. In the top of the ninth inning, he rescued the Phillies from a one-run deficit and propelled them to a 7-6 victory with a two-run single to center field. Gifts were flying all over the place on this Canadian holiday. Kyle Kendrick teed one up for Bautista in the seventh, and Toronto closer Frank Francisco (and leftfielder Juan Rivera) reciprocated in the ninth inning. Francisco walked the leadoff man before Rivera misplayed Chase Utley's fly ball into a double, setting up Howard's go-ahead hit."