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Phillies Notes: Kendrick scratched from start with sore shoulder

Kyle Kendrick could have trouble beyond a 6.91 second-half ERA. The Phillies righthander will not start Wednesday because of a sore shoulder that required an MRI examination Tuesday. His disappointing season could come to a premature conclusion.

Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)
Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Kendrick. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)Read more

Kyle Kendrick could have trouble beyond a 6.91 second-half ERA. The Phillies righthander will not start Wednesday because of a sore shoulder that required an MRI examination Tuesday. His disappointing season could come to a premature conclusion.

Interim manager Ryne Sandberg called the decision "very cautionary and conservative." He could not say whether Kendrick would start again in 2013.

Kendrick has pitched with the ailment for weeks, Sandberg said. He previously disclosed the injury and appeared on the team's medical report. But it had not prevented him from starting every five days.

"That's why it's a precautionary move just to free his mind of anything," Sandberg said. "He actually said he was still able to pitch now."

Kendrick was not made available for comment before Tuesday's game. The 29-year-old pitcher has never required a trip to the disabled list. He is eligible for arbitration this winter and could earn around $8 million.

Zach Miner will start in his place Wednesday as the 10th pitcher to start a game for the Phillies this season. Sandberg anticipates a few innings from Miner and heavy use of his bullpen. The schedule cooperated - the season's final scheduled off day is Thursday.

Sandberg described Kendrick's sinker - his most important pitch - as "flat" after his last start. Kendrick made three starts in September with an average sinker velocity of 89.3 m.p.h., according to PITCHf/x data. His sinker averaged 90.5 m.p.h. from April to August.

Was the shoulder injury a factor?

"It's hard to tell," Sandberg said. "That's a possibility. It could have had something to do with it. His velocity was still good. He was still able to throw a number of pitches and still pitch with it. It wasn't a thing that was a concern the last few weeks. At this stage of the season, the organization just felt for his peace of mind to be checked out."

Extra bases

Infielder Maikel Franco and righthander Severino Gonzalez were in town to receive their Paul Owens Awards as the Phillies' top minor-league players of 2013. Franco said his goal is to make the team in spring training. "I definitely expect that," he said. "I'm going to come in working hard and gain a spot for sure." . . . Cliff Lee was the second pitcher in baseball history to record 14 or more strikeouts and four RBIs in the same game on Monday, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Dwight Gooden was the other for the Mets in 1990.