Less than 24 hours after he couldn't pitch his way out of the fifth inning after blowing a 4-1 lead to the New York Mets, Worley was placed on the disabled list. He'll have surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow within 2 weeks, a procedure that should have him back on his regular, offseason rehab progression before long and healthy and strong for the start of spring training in February.
"[The rehab] is only a couple of weeks," Worley said. "So I have the surgery now and it gives me a fresh start. When these guys finish up the year, I can start my conditioning and stuff, too, and I'll be right on track."
Worley was first placed on the DL with right elbow inflammation on May 16. In his first five starts after being activated, Worley went 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA.
But when the calendar turned to July, Worley went bad quick. He went 2-5 with a 5.80 ERA in his last 11 starts of the season.
"I think [hitters] made some adjustments," said Worley, who finished the season 6-9 with a 4.20 ERA in 23 starts. "But it was me, too. I didn't make my pitches."
Worley went 11-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 21 starts last season; he finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. Although Worley wouldn't use his elbow as an excuse for the sophomore slump, pitching coach Rich Dubee said the injury was impossible to ignore.
"When you have divided attention, knowing whether it's going to feel right or not, it's hard to play this game," Dubee said. "You've got to be focused. I think the spur, the chip, whatever it might be, has been a distraction for him and it's weighed on him . . . His mound presence hasn't been the same."
Tyler Cloyd, called up to pitch Wednesday night's game, likely will assume Worley's spot in the rotation for the rest of the season.
Hamels sick
Wednesday's series of falling dominoes in the Phillies' rotation, capped by Worley's heading to the DL, was likely set off because Cole Hamels was unavailable to pitch because of a stomach illness.
Charlie Manuel said Hamels had food poisoning. And Manuel, who has persevered through several medical maladies in his 68 years, said that's not an easy ailment to play through.
"I had food poisoning on turkey before in Cleveland," Manuel said. "I was sick for a while . . . It takes a few days to get over that. That can make you weak as hell, it can sap the hell out of you."
With Worley out of the rotation, Hamels will likely hop back into the starting five on Sunday, when the Phillies wrap up a three-game series in Atlanta. If that's the case, Hamels will miss pitching at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati next week.
Hamels is 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in six career starts in Cincinnati, which includes his major league debut, a 15-strikeout game in 2007, and a postseason shutout in 2010.
Ruiz update
Carlos Ruiz (left foot) did some light running for the second straight day before taking batting practice with his teammates.
Ruiz is hopeful to go on a rehab assignment next week.
"He's doing really well," general manager Ruban Amaro Jr. said. "We're hopeful that sometime in early September, he'll be ready to go. So far, no symptoms and that's the most important part."
Ruiz has been sidelined with plantar fasciitis in his left foot since Aug. 3.
Phillers
Domonic Brown was out of the starting lineup for the third time in the last four games. Amaro said Brown's left knee pain has been bothering him as a result of overcompensating from a posterier cruciate ligament tear in his right knee earlier this season. Brown said before the game he was healthy enough to play . . . Six days after he was optioned, Michael Schwimer reported to Triple A Lehigh Valley. Schwimer was given a leave to have a second opinion on an ailing elbow . . . Cloyd and Double A Reading first baseman Darin Ruf were honored as the 2012 recipients of the Paul Owens Award, given annually to the best minor league pitcher and position player in the organization . . . Seven Phillies players will participate in the Arizona Fall League, including catching prospect Tommy Joseph, acquired from San Francisco in the Hunter Pence trade. Also headed to Arizona: pitchers Tyler Knigge, Colby Shreve, Kyle Simon and Jay Johnson, third baseman Cody Asche and outfielder Zach Collier.
Contact Ryan Lawrence at rlawrence@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanlawrence21.
