The length of Tuesday's game, 5 hours, 20 minutes, prompted Manuel to sit him out Wednesday.
"When he stays on his ankle a long time, I've got to watch him," Manuel said. "But also, he needs to find his swing. I know he's got to play to do that, but at the same time, it was a good time to give him a day off."
Also factoring into Manuel's decision was that Houston was sending lefthander J.A. Happ to the mound on Wednesday.
Howard got into Wednesday's loss in the ninth inning as a pinch-hitter and singled.
On Tuesday, third base umpire Scott Barry called Howard out on a strikeout on a 1-2 count as Howard tried to check his swing. At that point, Howard was 0 for 7, recording his second straight hitless outing. He tossed his bat and helmet and ran toward Barry, a triple-A fill-in umpire.
Teammates had to restrain Howard, who was ejected for the second time in his career.
Howard declined comment Wednesday.
"It's not an easy job," Manuel said. "He's put in a position where he has to umpire the game. He's got a job to do, and hopefully he was doing it to the best he possibly could. . . . It's not up to me to make judgment on it."
Victorino backs Hawaii
Having played in Little League, Shane Victorino appreciates the competition going on this week at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. But this year, he has added incentive to watch the games closely - his native Wailuku, Hawaii, represents the West Region.
Before and after each game, Victorino has sent text messages to the manger, who reads the words of advice to his players. Almost half the players on the team name the Phillies outfielder as their favorite player.
"It seems long enough, yet it seems not too long ago," he said. "When I go home, I still drive by the park where I used to play Little League baseball. Sometimes you drive by and reminisce on the memories. You pass by and think . . . 'I used to play here.' You know, you look at the kids and you hope some of these kids get to play in the big leagues."
On Wednesday, Hawaii scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to overcome a four-run deficit and beat the Great Lakes Region team, 6-4. Hawaii now advances to play Georgia on Thursday for the Pool A title. Georgia defeated Hawaii, 6-2, in the opening round.
Madson pitches in
Before Wednesday's game, pitching coach Rich Dubee said he wanted to avoid using Ryan Madson, who had pitched on eight of the 11 previous days. Dubee said he didn't want Madson to pitch Tuesday but as the extra-inning game dragged on, it was necessary to use him. He threw a scoreless 12th inning.
