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It had been so long since weve since righthander Kyle Kendrick that we were almost starting to forget about him. In fact, it had been three weeks and a day between appearances for Kendrick before he took the ball to start the first game of Thursdays day-night doubleheader fest with the Marlins at the Bank.
And as it played out, not much has changed with Kendrick, who turned in another solid start in the Phillies 3-1 victory over the Marlins. (See a game breakdown.)
With the victory, the Phillies improved to 96-51 as they inch ever-so closer to their fifth straight NL East title. As it stands, the Phillies lead the Braves by 11 games with 15 to go. The earliest the team can clinch the division is Friday with a win over the Cardinals coupled with a loss by the Braves in New York.
Nevertheless, dont expect too much more time to pass between outings for Kendrick. Sure, the Phillies have another day-night doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday, which may necessitate another starting nod for the five-year veteran. For now, the Phillies have more games to play than days remaining in the season. However, as the season winds down and the playoffs loom, Kendrick should find regular work in the bullpen.
I would say right now we look at him as a middle guy in the pen, manager Charlie Manuel said.
Kendrick is OK with the idea of pitching as a reliever in the postseason. Though he longed to be part of the rotation during the regular seasonand did make 14 startsKendrick understands his role and the horses Manuel has lined up.
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Besides, if there is one area Manuel and the Phillies need to shore up its with the arms in the bullpen. For now, Ryan Madson has the closer spot firmed up, but the rest of the back end of the pen is a situation-by-situation basis. Rookie Michael Stutes, lefty Antonio Bastardo and veteran Brad Lidge are the arms with Madson for now, though the trio has had its share of ups and downs this year.
Lidge has worked his way in there, Manuel said. It would be Stutes, Lidge, Bastardo and Madson right now.
Lately, Bastardo has been going through a rough patch and Lidge and Stutes have sometimes walked the tight-rope in delivering leads to Madson in the ninth. That trend continued in Thursday afternoons opener against the Marlins where all of Manuels backend boys turned in bend-but-dont-break efforts.
Stutes pitched two scoreless innings despite putting the leadoff man on base in both the innings he pitched. Bastardo, meanwhile, lasted just three hitters in the eighth inning. After retiring the first hitter he faced, the lefty gave up a double and a walk before the manager decided to turn things over to Lidge.
Bastardo had been flirting with a record for holding the opposition to the lowest batting average for an entire season until lately. Opponents are still batting just .122 off him, but thats up quite a bit since the first week of September. In fact, Bastardo has allowed four hits and five walks in his last four outings. Before that, the lefty gave up just nine hits from May 25 to September 3.
We gotta get him back out there and see if we can get him throwing the ball good again, Manuel said. We got time. I think hell be alright. I feel confident in that.
Certainly, Bastardo is in a brand-new situation for himself. Though he broke into the big leagues as a starter, bastardo has appeared in 60 games this seasonnearly triple his previous best. He also never has had to pitch as frequently as a reliever is expected. In the meantime, Manuel says when Bastardo regains his command, he will be able to cut loose.
For now, the young relivers like Stutes, Bastardo and even Kendrick can lean on Lidge for guidance and support. A 14-year pro and 10-year big-league vet, Lidge has seen it all. He also feels a sense of duty to counsel the younger pitchers the way Billy Wagner and Russ Springer did for him when he was coming up with the Astros.
They were definitely a veterans you could lean on, Lidge said. Sometimes I was stubborn and I didnt want to hear it from anyone, but they had some good things to tell me. Fortunately with the young guys on this team, they are smarter than I was and will listen to people. They have talent and they have good heads on their shoulders as well. Thats one of the reasons theyve done so well. Sometimes they say, What do you have for me or what can you help me with, so they have good heads and have good stuff.
The nuances of being a big-league reliever are often difficult to manage, Lidge says.
I think it can be very tough at times because sometimes you dont know what adjustments you need to make, Lidge said. Sometimes you dont have to make any, but you dont know that because youve never been through it before. Obviosuly, thats why its helpful to have veterans down there in the bullpen who have done it before.
In Thursdays opener, Lidge pitched two-thirds of scoreless ball when Bastardo was pulled out of the game, but he had some help. He gave up a single, a walk and ended the inning with a strikeout after Raul Ibanez threw out a runner at the plate from left field. In 14 appearances this season, Lidge has thrown four perfect frames, but none since Aug. 19.
Meanwhile, he also has found himself going into games in the middle of an inning as opposed to the start of the ninth. In that case it appears as if Lidge is in a new situation just like some of his younger teammates.
Its a little different, but that being said, if thats what Im going to be asked to do then I have to get myself ready to do that, Lidge said. Its a little bit of an adjustment because for a lot of my career I wasnt coming in with runners on base. I could come in out of a full wind up and make adjustments from there.
Soon, Kendrick will be part of the mix out of the pen and very well could find himself working late in games against certain right-handed hitters, according to the manager. If needed, Kendrick could go multiple innings in the postseason if it ever came to it.
Whatever they want me to do. Obviously with the starters we have, theyre going to go deep in the game during the playoffs, Kendrick said. But whatever they want me to do Ill go down there and be ready.
E-mail John Finger at jfinger@comcastsportsnet.com.