Phillies Notebook: Pedro Martinez returns to mound for Phils as great unknown

CHICAGO - Better. Not "a lot" better, or "a little" better, or "37 percent" better. Just better. That's how Pedro Martinez describes the difference between how he feels today and how he felt last August, when he was in the midst of a frustrating final season with the Mets.

"It's hard to say how much," Martinez said.

He'll get a chance to show it tonight, when he makes his first major league start in more than 10 months, squaring off against Cubs righthander Jeff Samardzija at Wrigley Field. The last time he was on a major league mound for a regular-season game was also against the Cubs, a 7-6 Mets win at Shea Stadium last Sept. 25 in which he allowed five runs and struck out nine in six innings.

The Phillies have avoided placing any public expectations on Martinez, who went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA last season while battling shoulder and groin injuries. Manager Charlie Manuel expressed hesitation about Martinez' ability to pitch deep into games before the Phillies signed him to an incentive-laden, 1-year contract that will pay him about $900,000 guaranteed. But yesterday, Manuel said that if the scouting department is correct in its reports on Martinez, he deserves a start.

"From what they said and what they've seen and what they signed him for, if they feel that strong about him . . . I feel like he should get a chance," Manuel said. "I feel like if he is throwing as good as they say he is, he should get a chance."

Martinez said he wasn't any more excited about this start than others from his past.

"Every time I get out there, I am blessed," said Martinez, who allowed three earned runs and struck out 11 in six innings in his final rehab start, pitching for Reading. "I am doing what I like."

To make room for Martinez on the roster, the Phillies last night optioned righthander Kyle Kendrick to Triple A Lehigh Valley.

For a couple of weeks, Chad Durbin was like a little kid sneaking a Walkman into bed. Each night he would doze off in his Clearwater, Fla., hotel room, an early morning of rehabbing in front of him, while listening to a broadcast of the Phillies game on his iPhone.

The next morning, he would wake up and check the box score to see what he missed. Starting yesterday, that was no longer necessary. Durbin was activated off the disabled list Monday after missing the previous 16 games with a strained lat on the right side of his lower back.

Durbin pitched the 12th inning of last night's 4-3 victory over the Cubs and earned the save.

Durbin, a major factor in the success of the Phillies' bullpen a year ago, has had an up-and-down season. On July 20, he pitched three scoreless innings against the Cubs to lower his ERA to 4.07. But 2 nights later, he allowed three runs without getting an out and afterward was placed on the disabled list. Durbin said the injury affected his arm slot, which affected his command.

Jayson Werth was out of the starting lineup for a second straight game, replaced in rightfield by Ben Francisco. Werth came off the bench to replace the ejected Shane Victorino in centerfield Sunday against Florida, then made two errors and struck out in his only at-bat. But Charlie Manuel did not cite that performance as the reason for his absence from the starting lineup last night, saying only, "He'll be back in there [today]."

Werth was a pinch-hitter in the 12th inning and struck out.

An estimated 100 friends and relatives of lefty J.A. Happ showed up to watch the Illinois native and former Northwestern Wildcat start last night . . . Ali Modami, the Phillies' lefthanded batting-practice pitcher, served as the team's bat boy last night.