Police probe beer bottle thrown near Phillies' Ryan Howard

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Philadelphia police are investigating an incident in which a beer bottle was reportedly thrown near Phillies player Ryan Howard during Saturday's game.

A police spokesman said the bottle landed near Howard, who was heading back to the dugout at Citizens Bank Park.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Howard alerted a security guard, who picked up the bottle. Howard called the action tasteless.

The 36-year-old Howard said he's done too much for the Phillies to have a bottle thrown at him. ''If you want to yell out `You suck,' that's whatever. But when you start throwing stuff, that's when stuff gets personal.''

The slumping Howard has been struggling all season. He was baseball's Most Valuable Player in 2006 and helped the Phillies win a World Series in 2008.