Afterward, Lidge said he felt fine and he should be ready Friday "unless something weird happens."
Pitching coach Rich Dubee said he was "very confident" Lidge will be at his disposal. Why?
"The way he's talking," Dubee said, "and the way the doctors are talking."
Of course, Lidge is typically rosy when discussing his health. Any injury to his elbow is disconcerting because the closer had off-season surgery to repair the elbow and twice went on the disabled list this season with complications from the surgery.
Manuel said he trusts his pitcher.
"I think he knows exactly how he feels and how much his arm hurts," Manuel said. "For me, you kind of go with what he says. Right now, he says he just has some tenderness and a little soreness. That can be common because he's been working. Ever since he came back in June and started pitching on a regular basis, especially here lately, he's been out there a lot."
The same could be said for just about everyone at the back end of the bullpen.
"This has been a tough haul," Dubee said. "We've had to work those guys pretty hard."
Ryan Madson has thrown more innings (261/3) than any National League reliever since July 26. He has a 1.03 ERA in that stretch.
Chad Durbin pitched on three straight days entering Wednesday. Jose Contreras had pitched in four of the last seven games and warmed up in two others.
"We have a pretty heavy load on our guys," Manuel said.
Here's the other side: The Phillies have still thrown the fewest innings (3632/3) of any bullpen in the league. Their 3.91 ERA entering Wednesday's games ranked seventh.
With the off day Thursday and The Roys pitching in two of the team's next three games, the bullpen could be well rested by the end of the weekend.
Another upside: The Phils have every Thursday off for the rest of the season. There will be built-in time to allow rest for some of the relief pitchers.
