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Come Fan with UsSunday, June 21, 2026

Ryan Howard Injury: Phillies First Baseman Crumples Into A Heap To End NLDS

Ryan Howard went down with what appeared to be a serious leg injury at the end of Friday night’s game.

Perhaps lost in the St. Louis Cardinals' celebration after downing the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the NLDS is the heatlh of Ryan Howard. With two out in the bottom of the ninth, Howard came to the plate as the Phillies' last hope, but a grounder to the right side of the infield triggered the Cardinals' celebration, and ended Philadelphia's postseason run before it got out of the gate.

Howard never made it to first, crumpling into a heap as he ran down the first base line on the play. It appeared his leg or ankle gave out, and the Phillies’ slugger was in serious pain as trainers attended to him after the game’s conclusion. He was helped from the field and moved gingerly to the locker room with the trainers’ assistance a short time later.

It’s unclear what injury caused Howard to go down, but it appears his lower leg or Achilles tendon was affected. We’ll be back with more on Howard’s injury as it becomes available.

For more on Game 5 of the NLDS matchup between the Phillies and Cardinals, check out the Baseball Nation live-blog.

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