Phillies Notebook: Mets' Harvey consults with Doc

TWENTY-FOUR hours after sitting in front of television cameras to talk about an elbow injury that would shut him down for the remainder of the season, and one that could put 2014 in jeopardy, too, New York Mets rookie Matt Harvey sent out a curious tweet.

"Thank you everyone for the kind words and support," Harvey wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday. "I may be done this year, but I will be back next year for April 1."

Where did the optimistic turn come from? Harvey, who has a partially torn ligament in his right elbow, had a talk with Doc.

Not a physician or surgeon experienced in arm injuries, but Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay.

"It just sounded similar to what I had," Halladay said. "I was talking to [Mets manager] Terry Collins, and he asked if I'd talk to him."

Halladay, then with the Toronto Blue Jays, was removed from two games in September of 2006 with a strained forearm and right elbow pain.

The second time, with less than 2 weeks left in the season, Halladay was shut down for the remainder of 2006. Upon examination, doctors saw changes in his elbow ligament.

But after an offseason of strengthening and rehab, he returned to his normal routine when spring training began in 2007. He went on to lead his league in complete games in each of the next five seasons, with the injury never arising again.

"[Harvey and I] just talked a little bit about some of the strengthening stuff I did," Halladay said. "Almost every pitcher is going to have changes in the UCL, so once they get the inflammation down and he gets that second opinion, if it turns out that it's not something that has to be repaired . . . it sounded to me that it's very similar to what I had.

"Really, it was a strengthening program we started during the winter, doing a lot of wrist and forearm manual exercises and some different treatments . . . So I just shared that with him and what I went through. [Dr. James] Andrews had told me that they felt like at some point they would have to go in and repair it. That was 8 years ago, and I've never had an issue since."

Although doctors saw changes in his elbow ligament, Halladay's injury ended up involving the flexor pronator. Harvey and the Mets are expected to wait another 2 to 3 weeks for the inflammation to subside so they'll have a better handle on the extent of their budding ace's tear.

As Harvey's tweet suggested, he would like to avoid Tommy John surgery if possible.

"I got a chance to talk to Andy Pettitte," Halladay said when he went through his own elbow and forearm problems. "He went through the same thing. I got some advice from him, and our training staff set up a program with a lot of different stuff to build up that area, and then also a lot of stuff in the shoulder to take the pressure off the elbow.

"Like I said, I've never had a forearm issue since then. I hope for him, when he goes in, that they don't have to repair that . . . You just hope once the inflammation goes down, they get a chance to look at it and it's not something they have to fix."

When Ryne Sandberg wrote out his lineup card last night, it included two outfielders who weren't even on his roster a week earlier.

Roger Bernadina made his fifth straight start in center and Pete Orr made his first start in left as two regulars were on the bench. Domonic Brown was out of the lineup for the fourth straight game with Achilles' soreness while Darin Ruf was given a day off after making 33 straight starts.

Ruf entered the day with a National League-leading nine home runs in August while also adjusting to a new position in rightfield.

"He's done a heck of a job," said Sandberg, who has been particularly impressed with Ruf's arm strength. "He's played the schedule - day games, night games. He's moved around positions and really played hard and maybe this is a day to quicken up his bat a little and then get him back after it. He's had a good string of games and it's a good thing [for a day off] because he's done well."

And what about Brown?

"He's knocking on the door He's close to being in there. It's still a day-to-day situation and he's coming along really well.

Cody Asche left last night's game in the seventh inning with what the Phillies called a "mild right hamstring strain/cramp." He suffered the injury while legging out a single to begin the seventh inning.

"He's day-to-day, but he felt a lot better [afterward]," Ryne Sandberg said. "Cramp symptoms."

Sandberg said there's a possibility Asche could return to the lineup for today's matinee with the Mets, but that it was "highly unlikely" for precautionary reasons.

Asche went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.

Following Tuesday night's defeat, the Phillies have been shut out 13 times this season. It's the most they've been shut out in a single season since 1989, when they were blanked 16 times. In 2013, only the Miami Marlins (15) have been shut out more often.