Roy Halladay throws for first time since lat muscle injury

Roy Halladay still has a long way to go in his recovery from a strained right lat muscle, but he took a small step in the right direction today.

Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that Halladay played catch with Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee this afternoon at Rogers Centre. It was his first time throwing since being shut down after leaving a start against the Cardinals on May 27.

Halladay made a total of 30 tosses from a distance of 60 feet and plans to do the same Sunday.

“I felt good,” he said. “This is one of the steps. It was good. The other [steps] have been good so far, so we’ll go from there.”

Halladay was originally expected to be shut down for three whole weeks, so he’s actually a couple days ahead of schedule right now. Barring any setbacks this weekend, the veteran right-hander plans to pick up the intensity of his throwing on Tuesday.

The original timetable had Halladay missing 6-8 weeks, so he could rejoin the Phillies’ rotation by the end of July if he can remain on schedule.