Oswalt Out; Unsure of Return

The Phils took an ugly defeat last night at the hands’ of the St. Louis Cardinals, but their roster may soon be taking a more severe hit.  Starter Roy Oswalt left last night’s contest after only two innings, complaining of lower back pain.

"“It has been bothering me for a little while,” Oswalt said. “I feel it when I sit down, when I stand up, when I walk, pitch, sleep.”"

Before leaving the game, Oswalt surrendered 5 hits and 4 earned runs.  Thursday marked the right hander’s 4^th loss in his last 5 starts.

Oswalt said that he’s been feeling the pain for a while now, with manager Charlie Manuel stating it’s been an issue since spring training.

The discomfort has been impacting Oswalt’s performance of late, as the 33 year old is sporting a 5.81 ERA this month.  Over his first 9 starts of the season Oswalt only allowed more than 2 earned runs one time.  He’s now allowed 3 or more runs in each of his last 4 starts.

Oswalt will have an MRI this Monday to assess the damage, and he is not expecting to make his next start.  In fact, Oswalt didn’t sound all that sure when or if he would be making another start.

"“You throw as long as you can throw, and when you can’t throw no more, you can’t throw no more,” he said.  “I want to keep going as long as I can. Hopefully, it hasn’t got to the point where I can’t throw no more, but if it has gotten to that point, you just have to accept it.”"

It’s hard for any team to lose a pitcher like Oswalt, but right now he’s slotting in as the Phillies’ 4^th starter.  While it could cost the team some games during the regular season, it’s looking like Oswalt would have fallen outside of the standard 3 man playoff rotation.

I know you can never have enough pitching depth, and we’re not even at the All-Star break yet.  But if this had to happen to any of the team’s big four, I believe most Phils’ fans would have chosen Oswalt to be the guy.