Blanton: I'm fine and ready to pitch

READING - There are only two circumstances in which a pitcher can give up two home runs and five runs in a five-inning outing and still feel good about it.

One is in spring training, when the results are entirely erasable.

The other is an injury rehab outing like the one Phillies veteran righthander Joe Blanton pitched Wednesday night for double-A Reading.

Despite less-than-desirable results during the Reading Phillies' 5-2 Eastern League loss to Harrisburg, Blanton declared that he was ready to rejoin the Phillies, possibly in time to start Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.

A team source said before Reading's game against Harrisburg that both Blanton and closer Brad Lidge were ready to return from rehab assignments and pitch in the big leagues again.

Lidge pitched two hitless innings Tuesday for Reading in what was likely his final rehab stint. Lidge is expected to rejoin the Phillies on Friday, when the team plays the New York Mets at home.

"We're both definitely ready to get back," Blanton said. "We want to help the team and get everything back to normal."

Blanton threw 67 pitches, walked one, and struck out two in his five-inning stint. He said he has no lingering pain from the strained left muscle in his side that sent him to the disabled list for the first time in his career during the final week of spring training.

"I don't even think about it anymore," Blanton said. "I don't know the last time I thought about it. I've been doing my normal workouts and my normal throwing and I can reach back and let it go if I want. There are no problems."

Blanton threw 23 pitches in the first inning, and the 15th one - an 0-2 fastball to Harrisburg rightfielder Leonard Davis - was launched into the right-field picnic area at First Energy Park for a three-run home run.

"I just tried to throw a front-door sinker and I just threw it over the plate after throwing two other cutters in," Blanton said. "It was three pitches inside in a row and it just wasn't as good as the other two. He was just kind of swinging, and I threw it right in his bat."

Earlier in the inning, Blanton allowed a one-out single to Ofilio Castro that was followed by a four-pitch walk to Danny Espinosa to set up the three-run shot by Davis.

After needing just six pitches to get through the second, Blanton allowed a two-out bunt single to Espinosa in the third, followed by a two-run home run by Bill Rhinehart.

"I got behind and tried to throw a cutter in and . . . he was sitting fastball and got the head on it," Blanton said.

Blanton finished with two scoreless innings and was removed for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fifth.

Just like spring training, the results of Wednesday night's game will not follow Blanton to Philadelphia, where he is scheduled to meet with the Phillies' training staff today.

"I'm not worried about results," Blanton said. "I felt like I threw a lot more quality pitches than I had in my previous [two rehab] outings. I felt really strong at the end. I had a lot more pitches I could have thrown, so that's a good sign. I felt like I had more feel [for the pitches] than I did in my previous outings, especially my off-speed pitches."

Now Blanton just wants his first career stint on the disabled list to be over.

"This has been the longest month of my career," he said. "I really want to be out there and pitching. This has been really hard."