Elbow soreness forces Hamels to miss next start

In a season of major injuries, this could be the worst.

At a time they can least afford it, Phillies lefthander Cole Hamels will miss tomorrow's start against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park because of a mild medial strain in his left elbow. He will have a precautionary MRI tomorrow and team physician Michael Ciccotti said he could miss from one to three weeks.

J.D. Durbin will start tomorrow night for the Phillies instead.

"His treatment and how much time he misses will be dependent upon how he feels and that MRI," Ciccotti said.

Hamels has had some elbow soreness since before he last pitched Thursday in Washington. Hamels, who is 14-5 with a 3.50 ERA, has thrown a career-high 1671/3 innings this season.

"He pitched in Washington, though," Ciccotti said. "And he felt fine while he was pitching, but it's just persisted and today he brought it to our attention. And as I said, his exam shows a mild medial elbow strain. We'll see what the MRI shows. Obviously, he's going to miss tomorrow. And any time that he might miss subsequent to that will be dependent upon the MRI findings and how quickly his mild pain resolves."