Ryan Madson sidelined with numbness in his pitching hand

Michael Stutes pitched a scoreless ninth inning in last night’s 1-0 walkoff win over the Athletics. While it wasn’t a save situation, Ryan Madson was curious in his continued absence.

According to Ray Perillo of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel admitted after the game that Madson was unavailable due to numbness in his pitching hand. He hasn’t pitched since last Saturday against the Mariners.

“For about a week now, he didn’t have feeling in his hand,” Manuel said. “Today, hopefully, he got it taken care of, and he should be able to pitch in three or four days.”

Manuel wasn’t specific about when the injury took place, but it’s believed that the numbness stems from when Madson was hit in the hand by a comebacker off the bat of David Murphy on May 20. Madson has a 4.15 ERA and 11/4 K/BB ratio over 13 innings since the date in question.

Stutes and Antonio Bastardo figure to share the closer role over the next couple of days, but one wonders if they would ramp up their pursuit of Heath Bell if Madson’s hand continues to be an issue.