Phillies Notebook

As we get closer to the final month of the season, there is plenty of news surrounding the Phillies. Here's a look at some of the news and notes from the Phillies and their minor league affiliates.

• Roy Oswalt will try to keep a successful month going when he takes the mound Friday against Florida at Citizens Bank Park. Oswalt is 2-1 with a 2.57 ERA (six earned runs in 21 innings) in four starts in August, all since returning from a six-week stay on the disabled list with a back injury.

  Oswalt threw eight shutout innings in the Phillies' 5-0 win over the Nationals last Saturday in Washington.

• Placido Polanco has helped the Phillies make up for the loss of Jimmy Rollins at the top of the lineup. Since returning from the disabled list on Monday, the same day Rollins was placed on the DL, Polanco has hit safely in three straight games. Polanco is 6-for-14 (.429) since his return, raising his average from .275 to .281. Polanco batted just .203 in his previous 35 games while dealing with back and abdominal injuries.
• John Mayberry Jr. went hitless Wednesday, marking the first time in seven starts that he failed to get a hit. Mayberry is hitting .326 (14-for-43) with six home runs and 15 RBI in 15 games this month.
• David Herndon has showed the talent the Phillies saw in him when they selected him from the Angels in the Rule 5 draft two winters ago. Herndon, who struggled with consistency while sticking on the major league roster in 2010, has blossomed into one of the team's most reliable relievers after a brief demotion to Class AAA in May.

  Herndon pitched a scoreless eighth inning on Wednesday to extend his scoreless streak to 11 2/3 innings; he hasn't allowed a run since July 18. Since returning from Class AAA at the end of May, Herndon is 1-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 24 games. He's struck out 26 and walked three in 32 2/3 innings.

• Shane Victorino has hit safely in 12 straight games. During that two-week stretch, Victorino is batting .358 (19-for-53) with three home runs and 10 RBI. Earlier this season Victorino had a 15-game hitting streak (from April 26 to May 13), the longest of any Phillies player this season.

Minor League Notes

• Lehigh Valley has plans to fly home immediately following Saturday night's game in Louisville. The 'Pigs open their final homestand of the season Sunday night against Syracuse, but it's looking more and more like that game will be a washout due to Hurricane Irene.

  The plan would be for a double-header on Monday between the two teams if the game can't be played.

• The Phillies and Reading Phillies have both moved Sunday's game to Saturday to make day/night double-headers. Lakewood pushed their Sunday game to Monday to make for a double-header and have moved Saturday night's game up to an afternoon game, but it's very possible that game will be wiped out.
• Carlos Rivero was named the Eastern League Player of the Week for the week ending August 21. During the week, Rivero hit .370 with four home runs and eight RBI.
• Tuffy Gosewisch and Tyler Cloyd, both members of the Reading Phillies, were named the Phillies Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Week. Gosewisch hit .321 with three home runs and ten RBI during the week. Cloyd was 2-0, 0.69 in two starts during the week.
• Lakewood continues their hot play as of late as they beat Delmarva 9-3 on Thursday. The win completes the four-game sweep of the series for Lakewood, and is their fifth straight win overall. The BlueClaws are 9-1 in their last ten games, and have moved to within just two games of first Place in the South Atlantic League Northern Division with ten games to play.
• Williamsport is going the other way. The CrossCutters were swept by the Batavia Muckdogs in a four-game series. The Cutters are now 37-29 under first-year Mickey Morandini as they head into a weekend series in State College.

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