1B Ryan Howard may be nearing the end with the Phillies. Manager Pete Mackanin told him before Friday's game that Tommy Joseph would be the regular first baseman as Howard is hitting .150 in 52 games with nine homers. Joseph went out and hit two homers in a game for the first time in his career.

1B Ryan Howard, who is the assumed backup to Tommy Joseph, started for the second straight game. Howard, who homered Tuesday night, was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in Philadelphia's 8-1 loss.

1B Ryan Howard homered for the ninth time this season and the first in 18 games in Tuesday night's victory over Chicago. The 36-year-old Howard, relegated to backup duty of late while the team takes a long look at rookie Tommy Joseph, made his first start since May 31. "I wasn't thinking about the week or the last 10 days," he said. "I was just thinking about that moment. I got a good pitch -- (Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks) hung me a breaking ball -- and I was able to hit it out." The homer was the 366th of his career, tying him with the retired Lance Berkman for 80th on the all-time list. Howard, however, is hitting .153 this season, his 13th in the major leagues. "From what he's been going through, it was nice to see him hit that home run," manager Pete Mackanin said. "I think it gave him a little more confidence. He almost had another one (flying out to deep center in the eighth). Good to see."

1B Ryan Howard, hitting .150 this season, again was held out of the lineup Monday, though he did ground out as a pinch hitter to end the game. Manager Pete Mackanin said he plans to start the 36-year-old Howard on Tuesday against Chicago RHP Kyle Hendricks. "I'm just going to get a look at him, see how he looks," Mackanin said of the 13-year veteran, "and I'll probably make a decision on how I'm going to handle the whole thing in the near future." Philadelphia's ABC affiliate reported Monday that police are seeking a male fan who allegedly threw an aluminum bottle at Howard after he made the final out of Saturday's loss to Milwaukee. He is described as a white male between 30 and 35 years old with a medium build and reddish-brown hair. He was wearing a blue Phillies hat with a red brim, a gray Phillies jersey with red writing on the front, and faded red shorts.

1B Ryan Howard did not start Wednesday, though he did fly out as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning. Manager Pete Mackanin said he plans to give the 36-year-old Howard three or four days off to "clear his head a little bit" while the club gets a closer look at rookie 1B Tommy Joseph. It's also possible, Mackanin said, that Howard's benching will be extended, depending on how well Joseph performs. Howard hit .101 in May and is at .153 overall, and when Mackanin was asked if the veteran's next appearance will represent his last chance, the manager said, "This whole year is a last chance for him. He's aware of that. He knows where he stands. He would like to continue to struggle to get out of it, and I said, well, let's take the heat off for three or four days and see where it leads."

1B Ryan Howard, dropped from the cleanup spot to the No. 5 spot in the lineup, went hitless in three at-bats Tuesday against Washington and hit .101 in May (7-for-69), the worst month of his 13-year career. "Howard is, to me, a prototypical cleanup hitter, but he's not hitting this year," manager Pete Mackanin said before Tuesday's game. C Cameron Rupp, inserted in the four-hole, also went 0-for-3. "If you look at the (cleanup) options, they're kind of not the greatest," Mackanin said. "Rupp has shown improvement ... making better contact. Not hitting for power yet, but he's going to hit some home runs. It's a gradual thing, and I'd like that gradual improvement to be quicker than what's happening."

1B Ryan Howard was back in the lineup against Washington RHP Tanner Roark on Monday, going 1-for-4 with an RBI double to continue the worst month of May of his 13-year career. The 36-year-old Howard is hitting .106 this month and .157 overall, and did not play Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, despite the fact that RHP John Lackey was on the mound. Manager Pete Mackanin reiterated before Monday's game what he said one day earlier -- that his plan going forward is to use rookie 1B Tommy Joseph against righties on occasion, as was the case against Lackey. "Howie's still in the picture," Mackanin said. "He's not being benched. I'm just going to give a little more playing time to Joseph." Howard is in the final year of a five-year, $125 million contract, with a team option for 2017.

DH Ryan Howard is expected to get three games as a designated hitter and a partial break from being the regular first baseman as Philadelphia plays three games in Detroit, where the Phillies can use a DH for their pitcher. Howard has eight home runs this season but is only hitting .156. He has just two hits in his last 26 at-bats. Howard fanned on three straight fastballs Monday in a situation where he knew they were coming. Tigers LHP Justin Wilson fired 96, 97 and 98 mph heaters to strike him out on three swings in the seventh.

1B Ryan Howard was not in the starting lineup Sunday against a right-handed pitcher. Howard, who is supposedly platooning with Tommy Joseph, is hitting just .091 in May while his average for the season has plummeted to .161. The Phillies play in Detroit this week so both Howard and Joseph are expected to play.

1B Ryan Howard continues to be in a seasonlong slump.The 2006 National League MVP and three-time All-Star saw his batting average drop to .161 after striking out twice in two at-bats on Saturday, walking off to boos from the Philadelphia faithful each time before being removed for a pitch hitter in the seventh inning. Though the 36-year-old slugger looks like his career is on his last legs, manager Pete Mackanin wouldn't commit to using promising prospect Tommy Joseph in an enhanced role yet, saying of Howard: "He's in a funk right now. We've gotta try to get him out of it."

1B Ryan Howard drew his 693rd career walk against Cincinnati on Sunday, putting him in a tie for seventh in Phillies history along with Willie "Puddin Head" Jones. Next up is Howard's former teammate, Jimmy Rollins, who is sixth with 753 walks.

1B Ryan Howard's last four hits dating to his final at-bat on April 29 have been home runs. He hit his eighth homer of the season Wednesday against the Braves, connecting in the fifth inning for the first hit of the game off RHP Williams Perez. Howard has 22 homers at Turner Field, the most by a visiting player in the ballpark's 20-year history. Howard is batting just .182.

ST. LOUIS -- Despite St. Louis native Ryan Howard's impressive numbers against his hometown Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies continue to struggle in Busch Stadium, dropping three of four in the series completed Thursday.Entering Thursday's 4-0 loss, the Phillies were one of four National League East teams with winning records, but they now have not won a series in St. Louis since May of 2012, and at 16-13, they could not keep pace with Washington or the New York Mets, who entered the day 20-8 and 17-9, respectively.Now, Philadelphia heads to Miami for a three-game weekend series with the Marlins, who were 14-12 entering Thursday.The Phillies blew a ninth-inning lead in Wednesday's loss in St. Louis, despite getting Howard's 23rd career home run against the team he grew up cheering, and Philadelphia pitching was not good except in Tuesday's 1-0 victory."Kind of getting that consistency and getting that feel took a little longer today than I would have hoped," Thursday's losing pitcher Jerad Eickhoff said of his fourth loss in five decisions.

1B Ryan Howard worked his St. Louis magic again, belting a three-run homer in the fourth inning. It marked his third homer in 23 career at-bats against Mike Leake and gave him 23 in 243 career at-bats against the Cardinals. He's homered in 10 of his 12 career series in his native St. Louis, batting .333 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs.

1B Ryan Howard on Tuesday night became the first player in team history to homer in multiple 1-0 games in a season.

1B Ryan Howard now has 22 career home runs against his hometown Cardinals, his most against any non-NL East opponent. The Phillies are 7-2 lifetime when Howard homers in Busch. He is a graduate of Lafayette High School in St. Louis.

1B Ryan Howard went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts Sunday, dropping his batting average below .200 on the season.

1B Ryan Howard hit a walkoff solo homer in the 11th inning to beat Cleveland on Friday night, the sixth such homer of his career and his first since 2014. "That was fun," manager Pete Mackanin said. "Any time you hit a walkoff home run it's exciting. It's great for everybody. I'd like to see Howie do it another 25 times -- not necessarily a walkoff." Howard's homer, his fifth of the season, came on a 3-2 fastball from reliever Cody Allen. Howard said he was just trying to find a good pitch to hit, just trying to hit the ball hard somewhere. "But," he added, "I'll take a home run." He had gone just 3-for-17 at the plate during a five-game road trip, prompting Mackanin to say he was "kind of overdue." Howard is also in his 13th season, leading someone to wonder if he might savor a moment like Friday's homer more than he would earlier in his career. "I think you savor it at any moment of your career," he said. "Whether you're a rookie, whether you're a veteran, those are always great situations to be in and be able to come through like that for your team. It's always a great feeling."

1B Ryan Howard smashed his fourth home run of the season in the ninth inning Friday. The blast was the 361st of his career, tying him for 81st all-time with Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio.

1B Ryan Howard drove in two runs during the Phillies' win over the Padres on Thursday, hitting a solo home run in the second inning and adding a sacrifice fly in the sixth. The homer, his third of the season and 360th of his career, was just his 91st off a left-handed pitcher. Hitting lefties is something the big southpaw has struggled with over the course of his career. "He looks pretty good at the plate right now," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "I'm happy for him."