Randy Wolf suffered a setback during his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery on Tuesday afternoon. While pitching for Single-A Clearwater, Wolf was struck by a line drive between the fourth and fifth knuckles of his left (pitching) hand during the third inning of his outing. Wolf immediately left the game and was taken to Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Fla. To be examined. A prognosis is not yet known.
Wolf allowed four hits and a walk without a run in 2 2/3 innings before getting hit with the liner. The lefty whiffed two during his short stint.
Also on the injury front, Mike Lieberthal had an MRI on his injured hip on Monday that confirmed that he did, indeed, have a strained hip. There is still no word on when the catcher will return to action.
Ditto on starting pitcher Jon Lieber, who did some light running and walking before Tuesday night’s game against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Lieber is out with an injured groin and has yet to throw from the mound. It does not appear as if his return to action is imminent.
Starting assignment Charlie Manuel and the team’s brass have no decided on a starting pitcher for Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, though the skipper says he has “two or three” pitchers in mind.
But according to sources and speculation, it seems likely that Gavin Floyd could be recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to pitch in Saturday’s game.
Floyd was demoted two weeks ago after an outing in Los Angeles where he surrendered three homers and seven runs in four innings of a loss against the Dodgers. In 11 big league starts this season, Floyd had a league worst 7.29 ERA and a 4-3 record. The tall righty allowed 70 hits and 14 homers in 54 1/3 innings.
However, in two starts in Triple-A, Floyd has rebounded a bit by racking up 17 strikeouts and a 1.69 ERA in 16 innings.