Howard was recalled as expected ahead of his scheduled start Saturday against the Red Sox.
The Phillies intended to bring Howard along slowly this season but will call on him after he'd thrown just nine innings for the Triple-A team, as they haven't gotten nearly enough from their other back-end starters. He only threw four innings in his most recent start for Lehigh Valley, so Howard is not expected to throw more than 75 pitches Saturday, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Matt Moore (back) was placed on the injured list in a corresponding move.