Roy Oswalt set to return after month-long injury – MLB News
Philadelphia Phillies experienced a further boost in their already strong pitching rotation when Roy Oswalt started for Triple-A affiliates Lehigh Valley on Monday, August 1 and is now expected to be activated from the disabled list as soon as Saturday,
August 6.
Oswalt was impressive on the mound on Monday as he pitched six precise innings and was quick as well. He clocked 92 mph on the radar and displayed his entire arsenal. Oswalt is constantly improving his arm strength and his 90 pitches were good evidence of
this improvement.
After his start on Monday, Oswalt said, “I'm probably not going to throw a no-hitter the first night out. But I feel pretty good. It's just a matter of executing pitches."
Rich Dubee, Phillies’ pitching coach hinted on a new plan for this weekend when Philadelphia takes on San Francisco Giants on the road. If Dubee is hinting at a possible start for Oswalt, it would mean an extended rest for Cole Hamels because both starters
have Saturday as their normal day to pitch.
Cole Hamels has had extra workload over the entire month of July since Oswalt was placed on the 15-day disabled list after his last start on June 23. Oswalt is on the disabled list due to a back strain.
However, there are rumours that Oswalt might start in Sunday’s game against the Giants which would then mean that one of Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay will get an extra day off. Both Lee and Halladay have already enjoyed ten extra days off between starts while
Hamels has enjoyed just seven of them. Given Hamel’s consistency, he deserves that extra day off.
Oswalt has been decent in the 13 starts he has made this season. In 71.1 innings, Oswalt conceded 32 runs, six of which were home-runs and allowed 18 walks. He bagged only 42 strike-outs in the stretch at an ERA of 3.79 and his win-loss record at 4-6 stands
ordinary. He would, nonetheless, hope that he makes a strong comeback to the Majors after almost a month.
Oswalt will face either Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum from the Giants depending on which day does he start. Cain is expected to start on Saturday while Lincecum will start on Sunday for San Francisco. Whoever his opponent is, Oswalt will definitely have to put
up a strong show.
Phillies are currently leading the National League with a fair margin and face a tough fight by the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in MLB standings where the former is placed second and the latter is not-so-far-behind at third.
It will be interesting to see how this add-on to the rotation help the Phillies extend their lead from Red Sox and Yankees.
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