Categories: 2010 Game RecapsPosts

Ryan Howard Injured, Game Result Rendered Irrelevant

Hey! So the Braves lost today. Cole Hamels struck out 10 without walking a batter in seven innings, and Dom Brown got his first career stolen base. Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge, and Jose Contreras all pitched effectively to lead the Phillies to a much-needed win.

But today’s story was written with two outs in the first inning. With Jayson Werth on second and Ryan Howard on first, Ben Francisco went the other way with a single, plating Werth. Howard went a little too far around second, tweaked his left ankle, and left the game.

There’s some guy with the handle “PHILLYBOY” who’s been commenting on today’s gameday post from a computer with a broken CAPS LOCK key. I think he put it better than anyone: “GOT HURT GOING BACK TO SECOND!!DOES NOT LOOK GOOD PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!”

According to Ryan Lawrence of the Delaware County Daily Times, x-rays to Howard’s ankle and right elbow were negative, though a stint on the DL could still be in the offing. If that does end up being the case, the Phillies will have collected the complete set of starting infielders on the DL.

We’ll have more news on the most important ankle in the Delaware Valley as information comes in. 6-4 is your final in 11 innings–Contreras picks up the win, Collin Balester the loss, and Brad Lidge gets the save. The Phillies now stand 2 1/2 games behind the Braves and three games behind the Giants for the wild card.

Michael Baumann

Michael is a graduate student at Temple University who lost his childlike innocence when, at the age of 6, his dad let him stay up for the end of Game 6 of the 1993 World Series. Unsettled by the Phillies’ recent success, he has threatened over the years to leave the team he loves if they don’t start losing again, but has so far been unable to follow through. Michael spent 4 years as an undercover agent in Braves territory at the University of South Carolina, where he covered football and soccer for The Daily Gamecock before moving back up north. He began writing for The Phrontiersman in June 2009 before moving to Phillies Nation in January 2010.