Phillies' Blanton overpowers Hagerstown Suns in rehab outing

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Six Hagerstown Suns were totally eclipsed.

Joe Blanton overpowered them all in a 13-pitch, 11-strike, no-run, no-hit, two-inning rehab start last night for the Class A Lakewood Blue Claws in a dazzling display that indicated he may be back with the Phillies a lot sooner than later.

"I don't know where [Phillies management] will take it from here," said Blanton, his right arm and shoulder swathed in ice after he emerged from a 1-hour workout following his brief but perfect mound performance.

"I'd like to get back there soon as I can, but who knows? I guess my next start is going to be at Reading [of the Double A Eastern League]. I can't tell you much more than that."

"It felt really good catching a major leaguer,'' catcher David Doss said after Lakewood's 4-3 win in 11 innings. "He had some filthy stuff, a great cutter and sinker. He didn't waste a thing. We had a plan and stuck to it.''

Said Josh Zeid, the winning pitcher: "He's a real professional and it was an honor playing with him. He showed us the difference between being a major leaguer and playing in the minors.

"He showed us what a great pitcher can do. To me, he deserves every dollar he makes.''

Projected to be the No. 3 man in the Phillies' rotation, the 29-year-old righthander never had been on the disabled list in his major league career until he went out with a mild left oblique (abdominal) strain after a bullpen throwing session as spring training was winding down.

Then again, he wasn't at his best before that, giving up 11 runs and 11 hits in five innings of a minor league intrasquad game.

"I still don't know what caused that injury," he said. "I felt something I didn't know. I kind of pinched my side. Or something grabbed . . . Then I pitched another pitch and it felt like someone stabbed me in the side."

Lakewood fans never would have guessed. Three weeks after the injury, Blanton was totally dominant last night.

"You know, I just went out and had a good [pregame] long-toss, then had a good bullpen [session], felt good in both of them, no pain in either one, then went out for the game, pitched well the first inning. Got back out for the second inning, and it was the same.

"It never tightened up or anything.

"To pitch 30 [pitches], yeah, that was the plan, but it didn't go that far and that was OK, too. It was their call. That's kind of the whole thing about being sent down.

"I'll probably throw hard again in a couple days; that should be no problem."

May 1 is a likely target date for Blanton's return to the majors.

The Suns were happy to see him gone after his brief stint. Hagerstown leadoff hitter Jeff Kobernus went down on three pitches. Blanton got Francisco Soriano on a first-pitch groundout, and Steve Souza went down on just three more Blanton offerings.

Blanton, who had last pitched in a minor league game in May 2004, as a member of the Pacific Coast League Sacramento River Cats, the Oakland Athletics' top farm club, needed just four more pitches to get out of the second inning. Justin Bloxom, Destin Hood and J.P. Ramirez bounced into routine groundouts.

And then - after reaching 91 mph on the radar gun, with most other deliveries in the high 80s - he was gone.

"Everything's going to be full from here on out, full throwing, full effort," he said.

"I had good command tonight. I guess you could call it pretty encouraging.