Phillies Notebook: Phillies' Rollins may return to lineup tonight

MILWAUKEE - Fans attending tonight's game between the Phillies and Pirates might finally get what they - and the Phillies - are paying for: a lineup that features Jimmy Rollins at the top, Carlos Ruiz at the bottom and a suddenly powerful Shane Victorino hitting No. 7.

Rollins flew back to Philadelphia yesterday, 1 day after making what will likely be his one and only official rehab appearance in Class A Clearwater, Fla., and is expected to be activated prior to tonight's game.

Only a routine exam by the Phillies' training staff stands in the way of Rollins' return to the lineup.

If all goes well, he will make his first appearance of the season at Citizens Bank Park. After hitting .391 with a .516 on-base percentage and five extra-base hits on the Phillies' season-opening six-game road trip through Washington and Houston, Rollins strained his right calf just minutes before he was scheduled to take the field in the home opener on April 12. He went on the disabled list the following day.

The Phillies have done an impressive job compensating for Rollins' absence. They are 18-12, hitting .271 and averaging 5.1 runs per game since his injury. Backups Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez have both played near flawless at shortstop, while Victorino had hit .286 with seven home runs and 27 RBI as a fill-in leadoff hitter.

But the Phillies are clearly a better team with Rollins in the lineup. Castro and Valdez have combined to hit .246 since the injury, mostly batting seventh, and Victorino's newfound power - his eight total home runs were tied for eighth in the National League with sluggers like Albert Pujols, David Wright and Jason Heyward - will provide a big upgrade at the bottom of the order. Factor in the return of catcher Carlos Ruiz, who caught Jamie Moyer in a bullpen session yesterday and has a realistic chance of starting today after missing the last three games with a right knee strain, and the Phillies might finally enter a game with all of their hitters available.

For the 17th consecutive game, Ben Francisco's name was not in the Phillies' lineup. Manager Charlie Manuel has said several times he needs to get the reserve outfielder some at-bats. A weekend series that featured a day game after a night game and three lefthanded opposing starters looked to be an opportune time to get the righthanded-hitting Francisco into the lineup. But lefty Doug Davis was scratched yesterday and replaced by righty Dave Bush. Lefthanded hitting Raul Ibanez started the first two games of the series, including Saturday's day game, against lefties Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson.

Francisco last started a game on April 26 at San Francisco. Since then, he has logged exactly three plate appearances and two innings in the field. His 21 plate appearances in April were, by far, the fewest of any month of his career since he reached the big leagues for good in May of 2008. He is 4-for-19 with a double, an RBI, a walk and four strikeouts in 22 plate appearances, and is 1-for-6 as a pinch-hitter.

On May 17 last season, he had 120 plate appearances.

Manuel reiterated his desire to find playing time for Francisco yesterday, but also said he thinks it is difficult to add another backup to a lineup that was already missing catcher Carlos Ruiz and shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

Francisco, meanwhile, said he is trying to remain patient.

"Things are going good right now," said Francisco, referring to the first-place Phillies' 22-13 record. "There's no reason to cause a disturbance."

Fellow reserve Greg Dobbs leads the team's bench players with 32 plate appearances, while Ross Gload has 24.

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.