Vance Worley likely headed to the bullpen in Phillies' postseason

MILWAUKEE - Vance Worley has stood tall next to the Phillies aces this season, and Sunday he had an opportunity to put his name in the franchise record books alongside Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.

One more team win and Worley would have matched the 15 straight games the wretched 1972 Phillies won with Lefty on the mound. Anybody who saw that coming six months ago probably should open a psychic shop in Center City or play Powerball for a living.

Worley, as it turned out, fell one game short of Carlton's record when he and the Phillies lost the series finale with the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-2, at Miller Park.

Only manager Charlie Manuel would be disappointed the Phillies had to settle for three out of four against the Brewers on the road and six of seven against Atlanta and Milwaukee over the last week.

"I wanted to go 7-0," Manuel said. "That's just the way I am."

Worley was denied his place in history by three straight two-out hits from the top of the Brewers order in the seventh inning, and he wasn't thrilled with a couple calls by home plate umpire Gerry Davis either.

After Nyjer Morgan over-celebrated his game-tying double that scored Corey Hart, Worley thought he was leaving the mound with the game still tied when Ryan Braun looked at a 1-2 fastball that both the pitcher and catcher Brian Schneider were convinced was a strike.

Davis disagreed, and his was the only opinion that mattered.

Two pitches later, Braun pushed an RBI single to right field and Manuel walked slowly to the mound before removing his rookie pitcher. When the Phillies couldn't rally against the Milwaukee relief duo of Francisco Rodriguez and John Axford, Worley (11-2) was left with his first loss since May 29 against the Mets in New York.

"It's different," Worley said when asked about being in a losing clubhouse after one of his starts. "That's part of the game. I'm not going to be perfect. I'm not going to win every game. I don't expect to win every game."

He did, however, expect that call on the 1-2 pitch, and after Manuel removed him, the rookie went for some relief by stuffing a huge wad of smokeless tobacco in his mouth.

"Mammoth," is how he described the tobacco wad.

"I was just trying to keep my cool," Worley said. "I'm not going to complain. I made some pitches today and I didn't get the results I wanted, and they got me on some pitches that I left in the zone. It happens. All I can do is put it behind me and take the positives out of it and be ready for the next game."

The end of Worley's winning streak did not dampen Manuel's enthusiasm for what the rookie has done this season.

"It was fantastic," Manuel said. "What all do I need to say about it? He did a hell of a job. I can't say enough about him. That's why I gave him a chance to face Braun. I wanted to give him a chance to win that game."

Worley, who will turn 24 later this month, has earned that right with his work on the mound this season, but in less than three weeks, the manager and pitching coach Rich Dubee are going to have to decide if the rookie has also earned the right to be part of the postseason rotation.

The answer is likely going to be no. Veteran Roy Oswalt, who will make his first start against the Houston Astros in his former home ballpark Monday night, has pitched well enough since returning from the disabled list that he will be the fourth ace in the playoffs.

Worley allowed one run in four relief innings in May, then lost the game in New York, which was his worst start of the season. Manuel believes the rookie can offer relief help in the postseason.

Once the Phillies clinch the NL East and best record in the league, Worley will likely be used in relief in order to get acclimated to the relief role before the playoffs.

"Yeah, if that's what we're going to do, it would be nice if we could get him down there and pitch him two or three times," Manuel said.

Worley won't complain if that's how things play out.

"If I get thrown in the 'pen, I get thrown in the 'pen," he said. ". . . I don't really care what my role is. I just want to contribute."