Phillies closer Jhoan Duran expected to return from injured list Tuesday
The star closer has been out since April 11 with a strained oblique muscle in his left side.
MIAMI — Cue up the Durantula scoreboard graphics.
Jhoan Duran will return from the injured list Tuesday “unless something weird happens,” according to Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly. The star closer has been out since April 11 with a strained oblique muscle in his left side.
Duran’s fastball clocked in at 100 mph in the bullpen here. The Phillies considered having him make a minor-league appearance but determined it wasn’t necessary. They treated the bullpen session like an appearance.
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“He was basically cleared to be active today as far as medical,” Mattingly said. “But then talking with Caleb [Cotham] and the pitching guys, they said any time we would send a guy out and he had anything like that intensity, they’d give him two days. So, that’s why we’re doing it [Tuesday].”
The Phillies had only one ninth-inning save opportunity in Duran’s absence. Brad Keller recorded a save Friday night against the Marlins.
Hunter Pence's 368-day stint with the Phillies was a study in extremes. Acquired at the trade deadline in 2011 as the missing right-handed bat for a World Series contender, he got dealt a year later by an underachieving team. And with the Phillies in full-on crisis mode this week, Pence sits down with "Phillies Extra," the Inquirer's baseball podcast, to discuss how quickly a team's fortunes can change. Watch here.
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