DUNEDIN, Fla. -- With Opening Day exactly two weeks away, manager Charlie Manuel is putting some semblance of his regular starting lineup on the field for Thursday afternoons game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Dunedin Stadium, with a few exceptions, of course.
Placido Polanco, who hasnt appeared in a game since spraining his ring finger last Saturday, says he will take some swings on Thursday and hopes to be back in the lineup by the end of the weekend.
Meanwhile, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard also are not in the lineup, but those are obvious omissions. Utley has not yet returned to camp following his departure at the beginning of the week to visit with a specialist about his ailing knees and Howard is rehabbing his Achilles and will be out until Mayat least.
Otherwise, heres how the Phillies will look when they face Toronto:
1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Shane Victorino, CF
3. Hunter Pence, RF
4. Ty Wigginton, 3B
5. Laynce Nix, LF
6. John Mayberry Jr., 1B
7. Carlos Ruiz, C
8. Juan Pierre, DH
9. Freddy Galvis, 2B
Cliff Lee will start the game with relievers Chad Qualls and Jose Contreras scheduled to follow. Kyle Kendrick will start a minor league game in Clearwater. Lee will be making his fourth start of the spring, going 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA, allowing 13 hits and three home runs in 9 23 innings. He also has nine strikeouts and a pair of walks.
Contreras has appeared in one game this spring. He faced five hitters last Sunday in Dunedin and retired one of them.
MLB
The pitching lineup for Fridays game in Clearwater against the Yankees is:
Vance Worley
David Herndon
Mike Stutes
Jonathan Papelbon
E-mail John R. Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com