Heading into the All-Star break, the Phillies have lost just one game in which Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco have hit at No. 1 and No. 2 in the lineup.
Problem is, they've only played 11 of those games, thanks to calf injuries that sidelined Rollins for more than 2 months and an elbow injury that has sidelined Polanco since June 25.
So the news that Polanco is nearing his return might be even more positive than the four-game sweep of the Reds the Phillies took into the All-Star break.
The veteran third baseman, whose contact-hitting ability was supposed to complement Rollins various skills as a leadoff hitter, said yesterday that he still has a chance of returning to the lineup during the Phils' four-game series at Wrigley Field, which starts Thursday. Polanco is scheduled to travel to the team's complex in Clearwater, Fla. today, where he'll enter the final stages of his recovery from left triceps tendinitis.
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the plan is to have Polanco play in rehab games by the end of the week; Polanco said the tentative schedule has him playing his first game on Thursday.
"I feel good," said Polanco, who took batting practice yesterday and reported no ill effects.
Despite battling the soreness near his elbow since late April, when he was hit by a pitch in Atlanta, Polanco leads the Phillies with a .318 batting average. In the 58 starts in which he has hit second in the lineup, Polanco is hitting .292 with 15 doubles, five home runs, 26 RBI, 38 runs and 24 strikeouts. In the Phillies' other 29 games, their No. 2 hitters have hit .244 with three homers, five doubles, seven RBI, 13 runs and 19 strikeouts.
Polanco leads the Phillies with a .370 average with men on base, and he is one of the few hitters in the lineup who has excelled against situational relievers (Polanco is 25-for-81, .309, when facing a reliever for the first time in a game; the Phillies' overall average is .232).
