Jeff

D'Amico

D’Amico left his start Friday due to lower back stiffness.

There’s a pretty good chance that the Pirates will keep D’Amico as their fifth starter. If they don’t want him, there will be plenty of teams interested.

He allowed nine runs on 12 hits in just 3 1/3 innings. That’s not the way you earn a ticket back to the majors.

He needs to make another start or two in the minors before being considered as a candidate for the Indians’ starting rotation.

He threw 45 pitches and did not have any significant follow up pain or discomfort yesterday. D’Amico is still a few weeks away from returning to the Tribe’s roster.

The Indians want to see him throw 90 pitches in an outing before activating him.

Manager Eric Wedge indicated that D’Amico will have to have a few more positive bullpen sessions before he can be once again considered for the Indians’ fifth starter’s spot. Joe Dawley is scheduled to start Saturday against the Angels in that role.

Three of Pittsburgh’s fifth-starter candidates pitched two innings in the game. D’Amico was the only one to give up a run, allowing a solo homer to Jim Thome. Ryan Vogelsong and Brian Meadows each pitched two scoreless innings, but by the time Meadows worked, the Phillies had pulled Thome and Bobby Abreu.

D’Amico has his ERA back below 4.00. There should be some interest in him at the trade deadline. He may not stay healthy, but he should be at least as effective Sidney Ponson and come at a fraction of the price.

The good news for D’Amico is that all three relievers who followed him had worse days in Philadelphia’s 16-1 win, so manager Lloyd McClendon has probably already forgotten about the starter’s struggles. D’Amico should have some fantasy value as Pittsburgh’s fifth starter.