Orion Kerkering can cross another item off of his to-do list on his way back from a sore hamstring. Kerkering pitched in the first two games of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs series in Durham, which was the first time he has pitched on back-to-back days.
After making his first rehab appearance last Saturday with Lehigh Valley, Kerkering had two days off before pitching on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday he gave up a double and an RBI single in an inning of work and followed that up with a clean inning Wednesday night against the first three hitters in the Bulls lineup, throwing just 12 pitches, nine of which were strikes. In three games he has allowed two hits and no walks, one earned run and has struck out three for an era of 3.00 in his three outings.
There is no definitive timetable for when Kerkering may be activated but pitching on back-to-back days is a big item on the checklist and now that he has accomplished that the Phillies will likely set a timeline. It’s possible that Kerkering would join the team on their road trip to Colorado and San Francisco that begins on Friday.
Meanwhile, Zack Wheeler will be starting for Lehigh Valley on Friday in Durham. He also pitched last Saturday for the IronPigs and threw three shutout innings. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said that Wheeler will pitch four innings and has a pitch limit of between 50 and 55 pitches in his next rehab start. In his first start on Saturday he needed just 38 pitches to get through three innings.
After Friday’s outing, Wheeler will make a third rehab outing with Lehigh Valley which would probably be on Thursday against Rochester during the IronPigs home series against the Red Wings. Wheeler is coming back from thoracic outlet surgery which sidelined him late last season and caused him to miss the playoffs. He is on a schedule to return before the end of April and he and the Phillies will determine whether he needs another rehab start with Lehigh Valley after next week or can return to the rotation.
Top prospect Aidan Miller is still working out in Clearwater and has not yet begun to swing a bat. Miller is working his way back from lower back stiffness that took him out of the IronPigs lineup for the final three games of the season last year. The Phillies pulled him from the Arizona Fall League and he did not play or even take batting practice throughout Spring Training.
The Phillies have said that Miller’s condition is not chronic. He has however, missed six months of baseball activities because of the stiffness and they have not announced when he will return to swinging a bat even in the cage.
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