Roy Oswalt allowed three runs on seven hits during a rough seven-inning rehab start Thursday night for Single-A Clearwater then dipped out of the minor league clubhouse before chatting with reporters.
Why the rush? This tweet from Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer might explain it:
Gelb then spoke with a scout, who confirmed that Oswalt did not have his normal fastball velocity. The 33-year-old veteran regularly hits 93 MPH when he’s at his best, but was clocking in between 88-90 MPH on Thursday evening in Florida.
The Phillies were hoping to activate Oswalt from the disabled list in time for a Tuesday night matchup with the Cardinals, but the poor radar gun numbers could certainly lead to a reassessment of that plan.
Oswalt has been sidelined since the last week of April with lower back inflammation. He had a 3.33 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 21/7 K/BB ratio over his first five starts of the 2011 regular season.
