Phillies Notes: Halladay less imposing on the mound this season

Roy Halladay hasn't been as dominating a pitcher in his third year with the Phillies as the previous two, when he won the Cy Young award in 2010 and was runner-up for the award last season.

Halladay is now 4-4 with a 3.58 ERA after allowing five earned runs in six innings and taking the loss in Tuesday's 5-2 defeat to the visiting Washington Nationals.

Pitching coach Rich Dubee says that there could be a number of factors for Halladay's less-than-imposing start, but he said Halladay still has the stuff that could make him a big winner.

"There might be a tick difference in his velocity but it's the consistent execution of the pitches," Dubee said before Wednesday's series finale with the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. "He is just not completing his delivery as he has in the past for whatever reason."

Dubee understands that many pitchers would be satisfied with Halladay's numbers, but the eight-time all-star is graded on a much different curve.

"The expectations have always been outrageous but he lives it and he deals with it," Dubee said. "As far as the outings, you can speculate on a million things; we're not scoring runs, and he could be trying to carry too much of the load."

That point is well-taken. Tuesday was the sixth time in Halladay's 10 starts that the Phillies scored two or fewer runs.

Jimmy Rollins, on paternity leave after the birth of his daughter, missed his third straight game. Rollins's wife, Johari, gave birth to a baby girl on Sunday night. On Tuesday, the Phillies placed Rollins on the paternity-leave list and called up catcher Erik Kratz to take his place on the active roster.

Under the major-league collective bargaining agreement, a player can take up to 72 hours of paternity leave.

Manager Charlie Manuel said he didn't know Rollins' plans and last received a voice message from him on Monday, telling him about the birth of his daughter, Camryn Drew.

When asked if he was surprised he hadn't heard from Rollins since, Manuel didn't give a definite answer.

"When I read the rules and everything, he doesn't have to call me, I guess," Manuel said. "If you go by what the rule says, if that is the rule, that is the rule."

Is Manuel actually taking advice from the media?

On Wednesday, catcher Carlos Ruiz batted cleanup for the first time this season.

"You guys [in the media] told me to move him up there, to move Chooch to fourth, so I hit him fourth today," Manuel said. "Maybe I will make somebody happy - people will say 'I told Charlie Manuel what to do.' "

That drew laughter.

The Phillies lack of offense has been no laughing matter, however. During the four-game losing streak heading into Wednesday, the Phillies hit just .132 (5 for 38 with runners in scoring position.

The Phillies and Citizens Bank launched this year's Helping Hands Glove Donation Program on Wednesday. Fans are asked to donate new and gently used baseball gloves to benefit children who play in the Phillies Jr. RBI League, which has more than 7,000 participants between the ages of six and 12 throughout Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware.

The donations can be made during Phillies home games at the Citizens Bank kiosk in Ashburn Alley.

Phillies outfielder Juan Pierre was on hand for Wednesday's announcement.

"It's a great program to get inner-city kids involved," Pierre said. "I've always been a part of it since I've been in the big leagues, sponsoring kids and getting them back to playing baseball."