Watson takes loss, impresses in return to Lakewood

Shane Watson, image- Jay Floyd

In a return two years in the making, right-hander Shane Watson returned to the mound for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws on Sunday night. Going 3 2/3 innings, the 21-year-old gave up seven runs (one earned) while striking out seven, walking none and surrendering seven hits. He was also charged with an error in the field.

Watson has been sidelined since he went down with a shoulder injury on July 4th, 2013. He has undergone two shoulder surgeries since that time.

The visiting Hagerstown Suns (Nationals affiliate) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening frame and held off a BlueClaws rally, locking down a 7-5 victory at FirstEnergy Park.

Despite being tagged with a loss, Watson impressed BlueClaws manager Shawn Williams, who had not seen the youngster pitch before.

"This was the first time I've seen him pitch and I was very impressed with what I saw," Williams stated. "I thought he threw the ball very well. If you look at the line, maybe not so much, but overall I mean it impressed me. No walks and seven strike outs. He had a good fastball and threw some really good curve balls. I mean, it was a nasty curve ball. So, for the first start out, I thought he threw the ball really well. He had some tough luck, but overall it was solid."

Watson was quite pleased with his efforts and credited the coaches throughout the Phillies' developmental ranks with helping him make a full recovery and getting ready to compete.

"I was really happy with my change up, my curve ball, everything was working good. Thanks go to the pitching coaches for getting me where I am," Watson said.

Hagerstown lead-off man Osvaldo Abreu paced his team's offense with two doubles and two RBI. Bryan Mejia and Conor Keniry notched two safeties apiece as well.

For the BlueClaws, first baseman Kyle Martin, a 4th round draft selection this year, mashed a double and a triple to lock in his fifth multi-hit game in his last eight contests.

Along with Watson's error, the Lakewood defense committed two other miscues in the field, including a remarkable throwing error by catcher Deivi Grullon in the first inning on what should have been a simply K 2-3 play, but instead, the backstop nailed the runner in his helmet on the way to first base, allowing a run to score.

The two clubs will continue their series in Lakewood when they go at it on Monday evening at 7:05PM.

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

A Letter to This Guy

Dear Cardinals fan, When a homerun ball is hit in your direction, do not close your eyes and raise both hands far above your head, leaving your face/chest/neck/head defenseless. Jayson Werth long balls to the cranium are probably not very comfortable. Next time, let the guy in the pajama pants behind you take a crack at it. He may not know how to dress well, but he keeps his eyes open in the face of killer shots from World Champion outfielders. Love, PhoulBallz.com PS- Stay hot.

Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com

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