Phillies Notes: Phillies' Polanco on DL with bad back
The Phillies placed third baseman Placido Polanco on the 15-day disabled list Thursday because of lower-back inflammation. It's the same injury that sidelined him last July, and this marks the fourth time in his three seasons since rejoining the Phillies in 2010 that Polanco has landed on the disabled list.
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The Phillies placed third baseman Placido Polanco on the 15-day disabled list Thursday because of lower-back inflammation.
It's the same injury that sidelined him last July, and this marks the fourth time in his three seasons since rejoining the Phillies in 2010 that Polanco has landed on the disabled list.
Polanco's offensive numbers have been in decline since the beginning of June. He is hitting .255 overall with 15 doubles, two home runs, and 19 RBIs. Since his average topped out at .294 on June 4, he has hit .184 with five extra-base hits - all doubles - in 32 games.
The Phillies said they would make a roster move before Friday's game against the Braves in Atlanta, but CSNPhilly.com reported that triple-A Lehigh Valley's Kevin Frandsen was at Citizens Bank Park, where the team was staging its annual ALS charity event Thursday night.
Frandsen, 30, has played primarily at second base, but some at shortstop and third base, for the IronPigs this season. He is hitting .302 with one home run and 33 RBIs. His 34 doubles lead the International League, and his 118 hits were tied for the league lead through Wednesday's games.
While the Phillies will not miss Polanco's bat, they do lose a lot defensively when he is out of the lineup. Polanco, a Gold Glove winner last season, has made just two errors in 196 chances at third base this year. His replacements have made nine errors in 72 chances, including eight errors in 47 chances by Ty Wigginton.
The last time Frandsen played third base in the big leagues was 2010, and he had five errors in 106 chances. He has three errors in five games playing third at Lehigh Valley this season and eight errors in 26 games over the last two seasons with the IronPigs.
Hamels vs. Sheets
Lefty Cole Hamels (11-4, 3.23 ERA) makes his first start since signing his six-year, $144 million deal when he faces the Braves on Friday night.
He will be opposed by righthander Ben Sheets (2-0), the 1999 first-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers who is in the midst of a comeback attempt from elbow surgery. He had missed nearly two years because of the elbow injury before returning July 15 against the New York Mets.
In his two starts with the Braves this season, Sheets has allowed just seven hits and walked four in 12 scoreless innings. Atlanta has won both of his starts.
The other pitching matchups for the series: Joe Blanton (8-8, 4.70) vs. Mike Minor (5-7, 5.49) Saturday, and Roy Halladay (4-5, 4.32) vs. Tim Hudson (9-4, 3.71) Sunday.