Charlie Manuel talked about Vance Worley as if he hadn't expected much more than the righthander gave him Sunday during the Phillies' 8-7, 11-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
"He battled," the Phillies manager said. "He stays in there and he usually gives us a chance to win the game. He usually takes you five or six innings. If you're going to be a fourth or fifth starter . . . in the major leagues, that ain't all bad. He definitely guts it out at times."
It could be argued that Worley has been gutting it out for some time. He landed on the disabled list in the middle of May with an elbow injury, and it was revealed then that he has bone chips that are likely to be removed after this season.
In the meantime, it cannot be argued that Worley is anywhere close to being the same pitcher he was a year ago when he pitched a lot more like a fourth ace than Roy Oswalt did.
Worley got a no decision after going 51/3 innings and allowing four runs on nine hits and two walks against the Cardinals. In his eight starts since the end of June, he is 3-4 with a 5.73 ERA.
"I think it's his command," Manuel said. "He's still really working on his command. That's the big thing. He's leaving a lot of balls up."
If Worley's elbow is the problem, he's not going to admit it.
"Sometimes the ball goes your way and sometimes it doesn't," he said. "I feel good out there. I'm just giving up some seeing-eye singles, and they seem to come around on me, or I walk a guy and he scores. It's just a matter of keeping guys off the basepaths one way or another and battling."
Worley said he is unhappy with his number of walks. He has walked 42 batters in 118 innings this season compared to 46 batters in 1312/3 innings a year ago.
Manuel strongly hinted Friday that righthander Kyle Kendrick would remain in the starting rotation, and it became official Sunday when the Phillies revealed the pitching matchups for their three-game series against the Miami Marlins.
"I talked to Kendrick the other day and I told him when the day comes when you're not in the rotation, I'll come and tell you," Manuel said.
The series opens Monday night in Miami with Cole Hamels (12-6, 3.08 ERA) opposing Nathan Eovaldi (3-7, 4.33). Kendrick (4-9, 4.86) will go against Josh Johnson (7-8, 3.88) on Tuesday, and Roy Halladay (6-6, 3.80) will pitch against Mark Buehrle (9-11, 3.80) on Wednesday.
Kendrick is 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA in his two starts since replacing Joe Blanton in the rotation and 2-8 with a 5.01 ERA in 15 starts overall. In 12 relief appearances, he is 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA. He had thrown eight scoreless innings of relief before moving back into the rotation.
"I had a real good talk with Kyle," Manuel said. "Kyle can definitely pitch better than he did the last time out. He has a winning record in the big leagues. He's very capable of being that guy we want. But we expect him to be more consistent."
The Phillies' decision to keep Kendrick in the rotation means triple-A Lehigh Valley's Tyler Cloyd will have to wait some more before getting his first chance to pitch in the big leagues. Cloyd is a combined 14-1 with a 2.07 ERA in 23 starts at double-A Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. If he continues to pitch well, he is likely to get a look in the big leagues, but he may have to wait until September.
After starting 106 of the Phillies' first 107 games, shortstop Jimmy Rollins was not in the starting lineup Sunday for the second time in seven games. He entered as a pinch-hitter for Michael Martinez in the eighth inning and scored the game-winning run after stealing third base in the bottom of the 11th.
The Phillies finished the season 5-2 against the Cardinals and were 5-4 on the homestand, taking two of three from St. Louis and Arizona. It was the second homestand in a row in which the Phillies finished with a winning record. The Cardinals and Diamondbacks are the only teams with winning records that the Phillies have a winning record against this season. . . . The Phillies are 14-28 against the National League East this season and 38-34 against teams out of their division.
Contact Bob Brookover at bbrookover@phillynews.com. Follow @brookob on Twitter.
