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BY SCOTT LAUBER
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Those of you who follow Philled In on Twitter already know this, but for those who don't (what are you waiting for?), Brad Lidge will be activated from the disabled list before tomorrow night's series finale here against the Rays.
Why not tonight?
"I think, for him, it's just a good idea just to give him another day of down time to be sure that nothing comes up tomorrow," Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "But we feel pretty confident that he'll be ready to go."
After consulting with athletic trainer Scott Sheridan, Amaro and Charlie Manuel said there won't be any unusual restrictions placed on Lidge. So, if the Phillies have a save situation on back-to-back nights, Lidge will be able to pitch the ninth inning.
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In other injury news, Scott Eyre threw from the bullpen mound for the first time since straining his left calf June 11 at Citi Field. He threw 26 pitches and reported no pain. Eyre is eligible to come off the disabled list Saturday, but it's unlikely he'll be ready until sometime next week.
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Ryan Howard is DH'ing again tonight. Greg Dobbs will play first base and Matt Stairs will be the left fielder against Rays right-hander Matt Garza.
BY SCOTT LAUBER
At 342 games, Ryan Howard has the longest active consecutive games streak in the majors. So, when he wasn't listed in the starting lineup here today, against Orioles rookie right-hander Brad Bergesen, something was clearly amiss.
"Hi, guys. Bye, guys," Howard said as a few reporters approached his locker.
Charlie Manuel offered an explanation. According to Manuel, Howard came down with the flu after last night's game, and things got so bad that he even checked into the hospital with 104-degree fever. (Update: The Phillies said Howard checked into the hospital at 3:30 a.m., checked out at about 10:30 a.m., and had a fever of 103.9.) Thus, Howard's consecutive-game streak may come to an end tonight. The last time he didn't play in a game was May 24, 2007, at Florida, his final game on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left quadriceps.
Without Howard in the lineup, Manuel had to get creative. So, here's what he came up with for tonight's game vs. the O's:
SS Jimmy Rollins
CF Shane Victorino
2B Chase Utley
LF Matt Stairs
RF Jayson Werth
1B Greg Dobbs
3B Pedro Feliz
C Paul Bako
LHP J.A. Happ
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A few other things:
--Even Manuel is banged up. He has a brace on his left wrist, the result of having his wrist jammed a few days ago when a player bumped into him in the dugout.
--Scott Eyre just told me he's planning to travel with the Phillies on next week's road trip, although he said he hasn't been given a rehab schedule for his strained left calf. He has long-tossed four times and said his calf is feeling "much better."
--Brad Lidge is still on schedule to pitch one inning tonight at Class AA Reading.
More later.
