Pitching scramble after Phillies-Marlins game called off

It wasn't difficult for Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee to realize Roy Halladay was anxious to get on the mound for the first time since last Sunday.

He could see it in the zip the righthander had in his pitches while warming up for Saturday's game against Florida, which was postponed and rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader Sept. 15.

"He vented a little in the cage," Dubee said with a smile. "But this gives Doc a chance to have his bullpen [session] today and get him a regular cycle with two days between a bullpen and his next start."

The first game of the split doubleheader will start at 2:35 and the second at 7:35. The Phillies will be returning home from Houston, where they'll play a day game on Sept. 14.

As a result of Hurricane Irene, the Phillies weekend series against Florida was reduced to one game. The game the Phillies hoped to get in Saturday afternoon was originally scheduled for Sunday. The originally scheduled game for Saturday night was also postponed to Sept. 15 after reports the area would feel the full brunt of the hurricane Sunday.

The hurricane also left Dubee juggling the starting rotation, trying to find the best way to keep the starters as close to their routines as possible. Pitchers are creatures of habit and typically loathe having their schedules thrown off.

All of the starters will be on extended rest. Halladay will be pitching on eight days rest. His last start was cut short to five innings because of rain.

Cole Hamels remains the starter for Monday, when the Phillies open a four-game series at Cincinnati. Halladay will pitch Tuesday, moving Cliff Lee's scheduled start back to Wednesday, leaving him with six days off between starts.

Dubee said it was important to keep Hamels in the Monday slot. The lefthander hasn't pitched since Aug. 12 because of shoulder inflammation and has been building toward a start Monday, when he will be activated from the disabled list.

"It's time to get Cole out there," Dubee said. "His bullpen session [Tuesday] was outstanding. His bullpen [Friday], you could see some rust, like an I'm ready to go. He needs to start seeing hitters and getting back into game shape. I saw some readiness. He'll be fine."

The two postponements means the Phillies are now scheduled to play 33 games during the final 31 days of the season with no off days. But Dubee didn't seem concerned the heavy schedule will leave his starters tired for the postseason. He also said he'll stick to a five-man rotation through the rest of the season.

"We're well rested now, that's for sure," he said. "We've got Kyle Kendrick stretched out and we have five other starters, so that shouldn't be a big problem."

The Phillies will likely have extra pitchers on the staff when the rosters expand after Sept. 1.

Montgomery apologizes. Phillies president Dave Montgomery apologized to the estimated 12,000 fans who showed up at Citizens Bank Park Saturday, only to hear the game was postponed.

He said the rain began earlier that the forecasts earlier in the morning led the club to believe.

"We had a forecast that was consistent right through 9:30 [Saturday morning]," he said. "It gave us every indication we could get the first one in. Our style is we like to call it before our fans come out. Our biggest apology is to the people who came here today and didn't see anything."