Vance Worley feels no pain during return
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Vance Worley feels no pain during return
Matt Gelb
Amid Jonathan Papelbon ripping into an umpire and Jimmy Rollins showing general indifference to the boos directed his way, there was Vance Worley. It was a short night for the pitcher, but having gone 24 days without pitching, that was expected.
"No tightness or anything," Worley said.
In the debris of a 4-3 loss to Los Angeles, that was the best news for the Phillies. Worley threw 80 pitches in four innings and allowed three runs. He was not particularly sharp in the first inning and was not aided by some close calls.
But his health was the most important development. Worley will pitch with a bone chip in his right elbow for the remainder of the season. At times, it will hurt more than others. But he demonstrated Monday it's possible to pitch through the injury.
"It's nice knowing that there's nothing in there that's going to bother me," Worley said. "I've just got to go out there and pitch."
That he lasted four innings after the lengthy first constituted a minor miracle. He threw 80 pitches in all. Before the game, Charlie Manuel had said Worley was good for about 75 pitches.
He admitted to some rust in the early going.
"A little bit, yeah. I wasn't perfect," Worley said. "I was around the zone, but I just wasn't quite getting it over the plate. It got better as the game got going for sure. I had better command of all my pitches as I kept going."
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Good news, since he may be our ace of the future. However, I can't imagine the Phillies allowing Hamels to leave.— miket47- Worley's never going to be an ace but he looks to me like a solid No. 3 with a good career in front of him. I'm old enough to remember Larry Christensen and Worley reminds me of him -- big, strong, unflappable out there.— eman
- Bone chips can change everything in an instant......— Mark1npt
- And you believed that? C'mon, Matt, that is rubbish. He never broke 90 on the stadium gun that I saw. Thankfully, we left after the 6th. It was cold, wet and nasty there. Just like it was when Jose blew his elbow out.— PhillySubsMac
- First game back you expected him to be what he was in the past? After the first inning, he calmed down a bit. Still, he needs to work on his control a bit more. Gets into high pitch counts early and costs him later.— ESFjellin
