May 17 -- SUNDAY BRIEFING

BY SCOTT LAUBER

WASHINGTON -- Morning, all. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, here's hoping you're enjoying your Sunday.

First, a few bits of news:

1. The Phillies have pushed struggling Jamie Moyer (3-3, 8.15 ERA) back one day. He'll start Wednesday night in Cincinnati, while Cole Hamels, pitching on his usual rest thanks to tomorrow's day off, will start the series-opener Tuesday night against the Reds.

2. J.C. Romero will make his first minor-league appearance tomorrow night at Class AAA Lehigh Valley. Barring any rainouts, he can resume pitching for the Phillies on June 3 in San Diego, once he finishes serving his 50-game suspension.

3. Sergio Escalona has joined the team here. I asked pitching coach Rich Dubee to explain why the Phillies elected to call up Escalona, another lefty reliever, from Class AA Reading instead of bringing up one of their many right-handers with major-league experience (Gary Majewski, Tyler Walker, Mike Koplove) from Lehigh Valley. According to Dubee, it was an issue of minor-league options. It seems Escalona's stay here will be brief, and the Phillies didn't want to burn an option for any of their Class AAA veterans.

4. Upon further review, Andrew Carpenter has been credited with the victory in last night's rain-shortened doubleheader finale. That's significant, considering it's Carpenter's first major-league win. Because the Phillies played only five innings on defense, Carpenter only had to pitch four innings to qualify for the win (he pitched 4-1/3 innings), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Clay Condrey, initially credited with the win, earned a save instead. So, belated congratulations to Carpenter, who, I'm sure, will celebrate with his teammates in Lehigh Valley today.

5. The Phillies are going for a rare four-game sweep today against the Nats. But they'll have to beat uber-prospect Jordan Zimmermann. Talked to one scout during spring training who absolutely loves Zimmermann and believes he can be an impact pitcher for the Nats. So far, he's 2-1 with a 5.90 ERA. Here's the lineup he'll be facing:

SS Jimmy Rollins (.216/2/12)
2B Chase Utley (.289/10/24)
LF Raul Ibanez (.368/13/35)
1B Ryan Howard (.266/8/28)
RF Jayson Werth (.289/7/23)
CF Shane Victorino (.255/4/21)
3B Pedro Feliz (.302/2/21)
C Carlos Ruiz (.279/0/5)
RHP Chan Ho Park (1-1, 6.00)

***
Recapping yesterday's doubleheader:

-Ibanez had an enormous day, going 5-for-8 with three homers and seven RBIs, making him the focus of the game story in today's News Journal. Here's something that didn't make it into the story: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ibanez has more homers (13) than any player who changed teams during the offseason. The Nats' Adam Dunn is second with 10 homers.

-Brad Lidge pitched a scoreless ninth inning in the opener, ending his streak of six consecutive appearances in which he allowed a run.

-Talked to Carlos Ruiz before yesterday's games about the change in his approach at the plate, and it's all here in the notebook. Also, there's word on another solid start for Brett Myers. That's two in a row.

***
In our Sunday MLB notes, we talked to Davey Lopes about the "art" of stealing home, which isn't really an art at all. It's all about luck, Lopes said, which makes it even more impressive that both Jacoby Ellsbury and Jayson Werth executed straight steals during a 17-day span.

***
It's been a long, but memorable, weekend in DC for Philled In. On Friday, we spent a few hours at the White House, checking out the press briefing room (yes, that's me behind press secretary Robert Gibbs' podium) and the South Lawn and the Rose Garden. It was a pretty funny, actually. The baseball folks in attendance were excited to get a glimpse of President Obama, while the political folks were eager to get a glimpse of the Phillies. Regardless, it was a day we'll never forget.

May 13 -- MOYER'S MISERY (UPDATED)

BY SCOTT LAUBER

In a little while, we will hear from Jamie Moyer, who had another miserable start here tonight. After cruising through three innings, he surrendered five runs in the fourth and two in the fifth, and just like that, his night was done.

Moyer's line: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 7 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 K

This comes only six days after he allowed seven runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out one in only 2-1/3 innings against the Mets. So, in his last two starts, Moyer has allowed 14 runs on 15 hits in only 6-2/3 innings for an 18.90 ERA. In his last three starts, he's 0-2 with a 13.86 ERA. It's his worst three-start stretch since May 6-18, 2005 when, against the Red Sox and Yankees, he allowed 17 earned runs on in only 10 innings for a 18.30 ERA.

Should be interesting to hear from Moyer.

(Updated, 11:58 p.m.): OK, so Charlie Manuel said J.A. Happ will start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, but don't go thinking he's going to replace Moyer in the rotation. "I don't see how [Moyer] can get right by sitting," Manuel said. "I don't think that can get him right. You can sit him down, but what's that going to do?"

And this is from Moyer: "I'm not making the pitches I'd like to be making. Every mistake I've made has gotten hit hard. That's more or less how I'm feeling. The mistakes I'm making I'm being punished for. It's got to be mistake-free."

That's a tough way to pitch. And after Moyer led the Phillies with 16 wins last season, it's reasonable to wonder if, at his age, he can still be as effective.

"If I start to doubt, then it's time for me to go home," Moyer said. "I've done this over 500 times. So, you know what, I don't really worry about what's behind me."

***
Wasn't able to squeeze this into the paper, but Manuel had this to say today about first-base coach Davey Lopes' influence on the Phillies' running game, specifically Jayson Werth's four-steal game last night that included a steal of home.

"Basically, we run when Davey gives indications or signs or kind of tells guys when to go," Manuel said. "If I don't want them to run, I can stop them. But that's the only [role] I play. When I turned the baserunning over to him, I kind of committed to him. I not only trust him, but I believe he has shown me how good he can be. He's that good. We're very fortunate to thave a guy like that."