Phillies Notes: Work hard to find lately for Phillies' bullpen

As Friday night's game against Florida began, the Phillies bullpen was as well-rested as Lenny Dykstra's etiquette coach.

Consecutive complete-game victories by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee had idled the relievers for two-plus days.

And regardless of whatever rust might have been developing, if Roy Oswalt were to give them another day off, manager Charlie Manuel wouldn't be concerned at all.

"If Roy can go nine, he'll go nine," a relaxed Manuel said before the opener of the Phillies-Marlins series. "I learned that a long time ago. Don't be getting somebody extra work in a game. That's something you learn as a manager. I can tell you a whole lot of stories about that."

Manuel recalled Aug. 5, 2001, when he was the Cleveland Indians manager and Seattle was leading his club, 12-0. Mariners manager Lou Piniella pulled starter Aaron Sele to get some work for his bullpen. The Indians woke up and won, 15-14 - the largest comeback in 76 years.

"Go watch that game," Manuel suggested. "That'll give you a good indication about 'work.' "

On the flip side, Manuel said he'd be just as comfortable allowing any of his starters to go nine as he was with Halladay and Lee.

"Our No. 1 thing is to win the game. But if [any of the five starters are] pitching a good game, if we've got a three- or four-run lead and he's got a shutout going, unless it's a totally ridiculous pitch count, more than likely you're going to give him a chance to finish a game."

The only way Halladay was leaving Wednesday's game, he said, was if the Nationals tied it.

"You definitely don't want to overwork them. . . . [But] if they can finish or close a game, that's fine. I'm not saying we're putting in a 130- or 140-, or 150-pitch count, because we're not. There comes a point where you have to make a decision on how far he's going and what you're going to let him do."

After Chase Utley ran in Washington on Thursday, he indicated to Manuel that he was optimistic about the rehabilitation of his ailing right knee.

"He feels comfortable," Manuel said. "He's making progress. It's a slow progress . . . [But] he's starting to do a little more. He's starting to run a little more. He's starting to move laterally more."

So does the manager have a long-range return date in mind for the all-star second-baseman?

"I have no idea," Manuel said. "We're just going to play it [by ear] until he gets well enough to play."

The Phillies got little from the middle of their lineup on their 4-2 trip to Atlanta and Washington.

Their 3 through 6 hitters were a combined 16 for 93 (.172). Fortunately, Carlos Ruiz picked up his teammates.

The Phils catcher went 10 for 20 on the trip with two home runs (including a pinch-hit grand slam) and six RBIs.

"He's seeing the ball real good," Manuel said. "He's getting good passes at the ball. And also, he's getting good balls to hit. The one he hit for a home run [off Washington's Jordan Zimmermann] last night was a breaking ball that kind of stayed up. . . . He stayed on it, didn't commit too early. He stayed back and put a strong swing on it."

Ross Gload, the lefthanded pinch-hitter whose presence here helped make Greg Dobbs obsolete, started in right field Friday night.

Dobbs, meanwhile, has been playing well for the Marlins. He was 7 for 17 (2 for 5 as a pinch-hitter) with a home run, a double, and five RBIs entering the game.

On Friday night, he drove in two runs for the Marlins with the winning hit - a seventh-inning single off Danys Baez.