Phillies Nation

Chase Utley could return to the Phillies' lineup by Wednesday, according to CSNPhilly.com.

The good news for the Phillies on Saturday was two-fold — they had their second walkoff win of the season on Jim Thome‘s ninth inning opposite field solo home run, and according to CSNPhilly.com, Chase Utley is headed back to the Philadelphia area and could be back in the Phillies’ lineup by Wednesday.

Jim Salisbury reports that Utley, who for the first time this weekend played second base on consecutive days, will likely play in one more rehab game with Lehigh Valley — perhaps Tuesday — before joining the Phils.

That is big, big news, especially in the wake of the Phillies taking Game 1 of their final interleague series vs. the Rays in preparation for Sunday’s Cole Hamels-Cliff Lee doubleheader. This is suddenly a sweepable series, as the Phils hold pitching matchup advantages at 1:05 and 6:35 p.m. Sunday. I wrote at the outset of the 10-game homestand vs. the Rockies, Rays and Pirates that an 8-2 mark was necessary, as it would put the Phils back at .500, at 39-39. Wins on Sunday would make the Phils 5-1 with four games waiting vs. Pittsburgh.

But back to Saturday for a second…

• Jonathan Papelbon blew his first save of the season, allowing two two-out runs in the ninth inning after Antonio Bastardo maneuvered his way out of trouble an inning earlier. It was Pap’s first blown save in 18 chances and the first two runs he’s allowed in a save situation.
• Thome hit an opposite-field, line-drive home run off Rays lefthanded fireballer Jake McGee to start the ninth. It was Thome’s first pinch-hit of the season, he was previously 0-for-12. Charlie Manuel thought seeing plenty of pitches in the at-bat helped Thome get his timing, which has clearly been an issue for him in this role. Thome saw eight pitches.
• Jimmy Rollins hit his sixth home run to start the scoring for the Phils. A 2-for-4 afternoon has Rollins all the way up to .263. He began the month batting .239.
• Juan Pierre smacked a no-doubter for his first home run as a Phillie, a three-run shot. Pierre also created a run on the basepaths, when he lined a ball to second that Ben Zobrist missed and hustled the whole way to beat the throw to second. Pierre then stole third and scored on Carlos Ruiz‘ 0-2 bloop hit to right field. Pierre is hitting .328.
• The Phillies’ win, coupled with the Marlins’ loss to the Blue Jays, catapults the Phillies out of last place in the NL East. The Phils are 34-38, 8.5 games behind the Nationals. The Marlins are 33-38, 9.0 back. Miami has lost six straight for the second time this month. The Fish are 4-16 in June.

Cole Hamels opposes David Price in a battle of stellar lefties in the afternoon of Sunday’s split admission doubleheader. Cliff Lee will face 24-year-old righty Alex Cobb at night.

With reports of another injury to Domonic Brown, the usual high hopes for the prized Phillies outfield prospect have taken another dip in the waters of woe. In recent years, the toolsy Brown has had many ups and downs as he has tried to rise to the highest level of baseball and stay there. Here’s a look at some key moments in his so-far frustrating career.

June 6, 2006 – Brown is selected in the 20th round of the MLB amateur draft by the Phillies out of Redan High School in GA. Brown signs his first pro contract one week later.

August 6th, 2006 – Brown hits his first professional HR for the Gulf Coast League Phillies.

2007 – Led the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters in hits (84), average (.295), SB (14) and games played (74).

2008 – Led the Class-A full season Lakewood BlueClaws in hits (129), runs (77) and SB (22).

2009 – Named a mid-season All-Star for the Class A Advance Clearwater Threshers. In 66 games there, Brown batted .303 with 11 HR and 44 RBI before earning a promotion to Double-A Reading. Brown’s line for the remainder of the year- .279/.346/456 in 37 games.

2010 – Prior to the season, Brown is named the Phillies’ top prospect by Baseball America. Continue reading The Strange Timeline of Dom Brown

OK, so now that the Chase Utley news has sunk, let’s examine what the commencement of a minor league rehab stint means for the Phillies’ second baseman…

- It means first and foremost that Utley begins a 20-day clock, which is true for all position players once an official minor league rehab assignment begins. This means that, barring a setback, Utley will be back in the major leagues no later than July 2.

- July 2 is an off-day, and the Phillies have 19 games between now and then. Just because the clock has a 20-day maximum doesn’t mean he’ll use every day of it.

- But then again, Utley hasn’t yet played second base in a live game situation, so his rehab stint won’t be as short as it was last season, when he needed only nine games and 36 plate appearances at Single-A Clearwater before being called up to the Phillies.

- Getting Utley back is a necessity with Freddy Galvis out indefinitely with a pars fracture in his back. But Phillies second basemen haven’t been as bad as you may think. They rank third in the majors in doubles, behind only the Rangers and Yankees, who have Ian Kinsler and Robinson Cano. And Phillies second basemen have the fourth-most RBI in baseball, with 33. Only the Indians (Jason Kipnis) and Braves (Dan Uggla) have more.

- Utley’s on-base percentage is what the Phillies need, though. Phillies second basemen have a meager .283 OBP, which is 27th in baseball. Utley is a career .377 on-base guy and even “Zombie Utley” had a .344 mark last season.

Roy Halladay and Phillies athletic trainer Scott Sheridan spoke to the media Wednesday afternoon to update Halladay’s condition.

Halladay, on the shelf since May 29 with a lat strain, had a second opinion on his shoulder that showed minimal changes to his rotator cuff since 2009.

So nothing changes. Halladay will be given three weeks off from throwing and then will be reevaluated. The initial diagnosis of 6-to-8 weeks appears safe.

Major relief.

Jim Thome has not played since April 28.

Jim Thome has been activated from the 15-day DL, the Phillies announced Wednesday afternoon.

To make room for Thome on the 25-man roster, the Phils optioned Pete Orr to Triple-A.

Thome has been out since April 28 because of a back injury. He hit just .111, going 2-for-18 with 11 strikeouts.

This is perfect timing for a Thome return. The Phils head to Baltimore on Friday to begin a nine-game interleague road trip. Thome figures to DH against righthanded pitching during the trip. The Phils will face at least two righties in Baltimore — Jake Arrieta and Jason Hammel.

Also, Dave Bush was formally released to allow him to pitch in South Korea.

Roy Halladay will speak to reporters with Phillies athletic trainer Scott Sheridan at 3:55 p.m. It will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.

A few brief  injury notes here from around the Phillies’ system….

-Kelly Dugan (pictured), who nastily twisted his ankle last month, has returned to action after missing nearly three weeks of playing time.  On April 20th, the Phillies’ top draft pick from 2009 sprained his ankle when he stepped on first base awkwardly, taking a throw on a ground out.

According to Lakewood manager Mickey Morandini, Dugan played in extended spring training games on Thursday and Friday and is feeling much improved, running and hitting with no difficulties.

For an image of Dugan’s awfully bruised and swollen ankle, from the time of the injury, click here.

In 15 games with Lakewood this season, the 21-year-old Dugan posted a .245 batting average with 2 doubles, 2 homeruns and 9 RBI.

-Lefty pitcher Nick Hernandez is still roughly a month away from facing hitters.  The Phils’ 12th round draft pick from 2009 has been out of action for nearly two years.  The 6-foot-5-inch 215-pounder underwent surgery on the labrum in his throwing shoulder last season after rehabbing the injury since the previous May with failed results.

According to the 23-year-old Hernandez, who spoke exclusively with PhilliesNation.com’s Jay Floyd earlier this week, “I’ve thrown three bullpen sessions already and the ball is feeling good in my hand.” Continue reading Injury Updates: Dugan, Hernandez, De Fratus

Thome heads to the DL, Kratz called up. Photo (AP)

Update, 4:37 pm: The beat reporters traveling with the squad in Atlanta have reported that Cliff Lee is getting closer to a return. He threw a pain-free bullpen session today. He’ll toss one more within the next week and could be activated from the DL shortly thereafter. Lee says he did feel something during some workouts, but did not when he pitched. He says it’s slowly getting better.

Ryan Lawrence of the Delco Times had an update on Chase Utley.

David Herndon has a flexor pronator strain in his pitching elbow. He won’t throw for three weeks. Brian Sanches took his spot on the roster after he was DL’ed on Monday

Domonic Brown has a strained wrist, he’s day-to-day at Lehigh Valley. Doesn’t sound like anything serious.

Jim Thome is on his way to Clearwater to work out the back injury that has him on the shelf. Charlie Manuel told the beats it’s best for him to work out in warm weather.

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2:48: pm: As reported by Jim Salisbury of Comcast Sports Net,  the Phillies have sent 1B Jim Thome to the DL with a lower back strain and have recalled C Erik Kratz. Thome, 41, strugged in 21 plate appearances, hitting only two singles and drawing three walks while striking out 10 times. Kratz, 31, has been on fire in Triple-A hitting .292/.333/.500 with 4 doubles and 2 HRs and will help fill a bench that remains devoid of right-handed hitters.

Salisbury pointed out Dom Brown is hitting .253 in Triple-A with no HRs and would likely not receive consistent playing time had he been called up. Salisbury also noted that popular Spring Training players Scott Podsednik and Hector Luna also are struggling in Triple-A, hitting .185 and .235 respectively. Kratz’s move did not require a 40-man roster move as Kratz is the third catcher on the 40-man roster.

Lakewood first baseman Kelly Dugan (pictured, left) has been sent to the Phillies’ spring traning home in Clearwater, FL to rehab his injured ankle.

The switch-hitting Dugan has been sidelined since the Class A BlueClaws’ game at Hagerstown on April 20th, when he stepped on first base awkwardly, while taking a throw on a ground out, and turned his left ankle.

According to Lakewood manager Mickey Morandini, there is no time frame for a return for Dugan, but the injury is not very serious.

“It’s basically a twisted ankle.  Once the swelling goes down and the pain goes away, he’ll resume some strengthening (exercises) and he’ll start running again,” Morandini stated.

Morandini added that Dugan spent some time in a protective boot, after suffering the injury, to limit the range of motion and to keep the swelling contained. Continue reading Dugan to Rehab Ankle in Clearwater

Righty reliever Justin De Fratus, who has been checking in with this site throughout his delayed 2012 campaign regarding his progress, as he recovers from an elbow ailment, has experienced a setback on his road to recovery.

De Fratus told PhilliesNation.com’s Jay Floyd exclusively last weekend that, following a rehab appearance with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers that he would have a similar outing with Clearwater the following Wednesday.  After experiencing more discomfort with his increasingly aggressive work schedule, De Fratus was shut down by the Phillies, as a precautionary measure to avoid additional problems.

Described as a strain on the flexor tendon in his throwing elbow, the ailment is expected to heal fully with rest.  The native of Oxnard, CA is expected to sit out for two weeks and will then be reevaluated for a return to an active throwing program. Continue reading De Fratus Experiences Setback with Elbow

Right-handed reliever Justin De Fratus has recovered from the elbow ailment that kept him out of action throughout all of spring training and has begun facing batters in minor league rehab appearances.  The Phillies’ 11th round draft pick from 2007 has been checking in, on a regular basis, and providing exclusive updates directly to the fans about his road back to action at the upper levels, throughout the past several weeks, right here on PhilliesNation.com.

De Fratus, 24, went 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and 99 strike outs in 75 1/3 innings
in his time with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year
before making his Major League debut in September and holding opponents
to a .083 batting average in 5 appearances.

This week, De Fratus, who has been on the disabled list for the Phillies since the season began, is back in action, appearing with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers as he works his elbow into shape in somewhat of a delayed spring training.  This week, Justin shared his thoughts on his return to competition, his steps going forward, the Phillies’ struggling offense and more.  Read ahead for a full rundown of Justin’s exclusive comments.
On where he is with his progress right now and what is next…

After working to get myself prepared to throw in my first games of the year, I’ve thrown in two and everything’s going well.  I’m trying to get myself prepared for the season now…you know, being ready to pitch every day and that type of thing.

I threw in an extended spring training game on Thursday and I threw a scoreless inning for the Threshers (on Sunday). The cool thing about the game with Clearwater was that I had those first outing jitters and I missed that.  It was good to feel that. I’m happy with where I am. In the grand scheme of things, you’ve got to remember that this was essentially my second outing of spring training.  So, even though it’s April, I have to remind myself that I’m not going to be as sharp as I want to be.  I’m still trying to get a feel for the strike zone and everything.  I’m throwing strikes, but I’m not throwing it as aggressively as I normally would.  I’m getting into the flow.  No cause for concern, this is normal for the stage that I’m at right now.  Everything’s been completely positive right now.  I’m really happy with where I am. Continue reading De Fratus Checks In: Rehab Games, Struggling Offense & More