Rehab

MIAMI - At 7:11 p.m. Tuesday, Jimmy Rollins crushed the second pitch of the night deep into the empty stands at Marlins Park. Once the game became official after the fifth inning, he had set a record. For the 1,731st time, he played shortstop for the Phillies, and that is more than any other man in the franchise's 130 seasons. Rollins shrugged at eclipsing Larry Bowa's mark for longevity at shortstop, saying it merely meant he's been around for a long time. That should not be confused, Rollins said, with taking it for granted.

Genesis Healthcare, a nursing-home giant based in Kennett Square, is expanding its short-term rehabilitation business with a $30 million facility under construction in Voorhees. Genesis is also converting three of its traditional nursing homes in Southeastern Pennsylvania to this new rehabilitation model - called PowerBack - for patients who have had joint replacements or heart problems and are not ready to go straight home. The moves are happening amid the financial pressure of Medicare's 11 percent funding cuts for nursing homes last year and perpetually insufficient payments for Medicaid patients, which account for most of the nursing home industry's business.

ALLENTOWN - After missing about six months with elbow and forearm injuries, reliever Justin De Fratus said he is healthy again. De Fratus, ranked No. 9 among Phillies prospects by The Inquirer's baseball writers and No. 7 by Baseball America, suffered a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in January while throwing long toss with a friend back home in Oxnard, Calif. The time needed for rehab extended into April, when an MRI also revealed a strained forearm tendon. De Fratus' season is finally where he expected it to be, though.

SUSPENDED DRIVER A.J. Allmendinger said Wednesday that he will participate in NASCAR's substance-abuse recovery program, a sign that he wants to get back to racing as soon as possible and avoid a fight over the accuracy of his failed drug test. Allmendinger's business manager, Tara Ragan, confirmed multiple media reports Wednesday that an amphetamine triggered the positive test. Ragan said Allmendinger was waiting for additional data from the laboratory that might help identify the source of the amphetamine.

DOMONIC BROWN singled and drove in a run Monday night in his first game since being activated from the disabled list at Triple A Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs began a four-game series Monday night in Durham and Brown was in the lineup, batting third and playing leftfield. He went 1-for-3 and also walked, scoring twice as the IronPigs won, 6-1. Brown was placed on the DL with a right knee sprain on June 27 after missing 12 games, when he was listed as day-to-day. The team and Brown seemed to have a disagreement on the extent of the injury at the time.

DENVER - Roy Halladay cleared the final hurdle Saturday. After throwing 28 pitches in the bullpen at Coors Field, the two-time Cy Young Award winner said he "felt fine. " Pitching coach Rich Dubee indicated Halladay will be ready to pitch Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers "unless I'm told he can't," Dubee said. The pitching coach also said Halladay will be on a pitch count, but declined to reveal what the count will be. Halladay has not pitched in a big-league game since May 27 in St. Louis, when he revealed he had soreness in the back of his right shoulder.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay lasted only three innings in his first rehab start Thursday night, but he pitched well at Bright House Field as he tested the strained muscle behind his right shoulder that has sidelined him for the last six weeks. Halladay, pitching in a game for the first time since May 27, gave up three hits and allowed one unearned run, as the game's first batter reached on an error and scored on a two-out double off the wall in center field.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay lasted only three innings in his first rehab start Thursday night, but he pitched well at Bright House Field as he tested the strained muscle behind his right shoulder that has sidelined him for 6 weeks. Halladay, pitching in a game for the first time since May 27, gave up three hits and allowed one unearned run, as the game's first batter reached on an error and scored on a two-out double off the wall in centerfield. The 35-year-old righthander threw 61 pitches, including 43 for strikes, going to a three-ball count just once, on that opening batter.

A day after watching reliever Antonio Bastardo spoil Kyle Kendrick's spotless start, manager Charlie Manuel defended his decision to go to the bullpen in the eighth inning. Bastardo entered a scoreless game Friday and proceeded to cough up five runs in the eventual Phillies loss. In two-thirds of an inning, he walked three and surrendered a grand slam to Brian McCann. Manuel said he lifted Kendrick for the lefthanded Bastardo to face Atlanta's lefty-heavy lineup. "Why shouldn't I bring him in to pitch to those lefthanded hitters?"

ALLENTOWN — Ryan Howard said he felt pretty good after he played nine innings at first base for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs during his rehabilitation. In fact, Howard was eager to talk to Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. about possibly returning to the parent club this weekend. "I'd like to try [to call Amaro], but my phone isn't charged," Howard joked minutes after Thursday night's 7-2 victory over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. "Sure, I'd like to be back there [Philadelphia]