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Former Phillies hurler David Herndon has returned to action following Tommy John surgery last year.  A Rule 5 pick from the Angels in 2009, Herndon appeared in 97 games with the Phils from 2010-2012.  The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers by Toronto following last season and soon ended up in the Yankees' organization after the Blue Jays showed they weren't committed to him.  Now, 14 games into his season, the owner of a 3.85 career big league ERA, Herndon, has become a contributor out of the Double-A Trenton Thunder bullpen as he works his way back to the big leagues, following his ailment. Herndon tossed two scoreless frames against the Reading Fightin Phils on Friday.  Below, you can see footage of the righty hurler striking out two former top Phillies draft picks, Zach Collier and Kelly Dugan .

Controversial mega-star Alex Rodriguez continued his "rehab" games in the minor leagues while baseball approaches a decision or announcement regarding the slugger's reported connections to the Biogenesis drug case.  Playing with the Double-A Trenton Thunder on Friday, the Yankees' third baseman faced the Phillies' Double-A affiliate, Reading, and top pitching prospect Jesse Biddle . The lefty hurler, who was the Phils' 1st round draft pick in 2010, took on the three-time American League Most Valuable Player and admittedly gave a bit too much thought toward the chance to face one of the game's legendary names. In the first inning, with Reading ahead 1-0, thanks to an Albert Cartwright sacrifice fly, Biddle loaded the bases after a lead-off double by left fielder Ramon Flores and two free passes to Rodriguez and center fielder Slade Heathcott .  The 21-year-old Eastern League All-Star then took a deep breath, knowing that strike outs were ideal...

Here's a brief statistical preview for Thursday's double header between the Phillies and Marlins, to be played at Citizens Bank Park. Tuesday, 2:35 PM. Anibal Sanchez (8-7, 3.64 ERA) vs Kyle Kendrick (7-6, 3.29 ERA). In 15 starts in the road this year, Sanchez has a 5-4 record with a 3.47 ERA. Sanchez is 1-1 with a 1.73 ERA over his last 4 starts. In 4 starts against the Phillies this year, Sanchez has no decisions and a 3.52 ERA. Kendrick has a 3-2 record with a 2.85 ERA in 8 games since the All-Star break. In 15 home games this year, Kendrick has a 2-5 record with a 3.45 ERA. Gaby Sanchez is 8-for-16 (.500 avg) with a double and a HR against Kendrick in his career. Tuesday, 7:35 PM. Alex Sanabia (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (16-7, 2.44 ERA). The righty Sanabia will be making his second big league appearance this season. In 15 games with the Marlins last year, Sanabia went 5-3 with a 3.73 ERA. In his last 8 starts, Cliff Lee is 7-0 with a 0.99 ERA. In 4 career st...

Division rivals begin a 3-game series on the birthday of the country, as the Phillies (53-32) travel to Florida to take on the Marlins (38-46) on Independence Day. Florida went 3-22 to begin the month of June, but have gone 4-1 since then. The tough stretch set the Marlins back quite a bit. The club now sits 14 1/2 games behind the division leading Phillies, in last place in the National League East division. Details on the pitching match ups and loads more key stats from this series lie ahead. Monday, 6:10PM. Vance Worley (3-1, 2.57 ERA) vs. Ricky Nolasco (5-4, 4.08 ERA). In 2 career games against Florida, Worley is 0-1 with 3.38 ERA. Worley has a 0-1 record with a 5.25 ERA in 4 road appearances this season. Worley is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last 3 starts. In his last 4 starts, Nolasco is 1-3 with a 4.88 ERA. Nolasco is 6-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 13 career games against the Phillies. Shane Victorino is 4-for-26 (.154 avg) in his career against Nolasco. Tuesday, 7:10PM. Cole ...

The stove stays hot during the off-season, but there are Phillies and Philadelphia prospects playing games around the world. It's time for another review of the various Winter Leagues. In the Puerto Rican League- Righty hurler Julio Rodriguez has pitched very well for the Gigantes. A native of Puerto Rico, the 20-year-old Rodriguez has posted a 3-1 record and a 2.00 ERA in 11 games (9 starts) while striking out 25 batters in 40 innings pitched. In the Venezuelan Winter League- Lefty reliever Sergio Escalona , who pitched with the big league Phillies in 2009, has appeared in 22 games for the Tiburones. He has yet to record a decision and has a 4.50 overall ERA. In his last 10 games, Escalona has posted a 2.45 ERA and allowed runs in only 1 appearance. In 50 games at Double A Reading in 2010, Escalona had a 4-8 record with 10 saves and a 3.81 ERA while holding opponents to a .227 batting average. Escalona turned 26-years-old in August. Fidel Hernandez , a 24-year-old Venezuela nativ...

Sure, free agency and the Hot Stove can provide plenty of news at this time of the year, but there are actual games being played...somewhere. Let's take a look around the varying "Winter" leagues that are going on all over the world, to review how players with current Phillies ties are performing. In the Dominican Winter Baseball League... Domonic Brown was a member of the Escogido Leones, but left the team last week. After struggling in 9 games for the Leones, Brown's Winter league stint was cut short. He went 2-for-29 (.069 avg) with 1 double and 8 strike outs. 2010 Phillies rookie hurler David Herndon has looked sharp thus far out of the bullpen for the Cibao Gigantes. In 6 games, Herndon has thrown 6 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .167 average without allowing a run. Phillies lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo is also a member of the Gigantes relief corp. In 7 games, Bastardo, a native of the DR, has a 0-1 record with 7 strike outs and 1 walk in 9 innings. He...

With many individuals from the Phillies' organization playing in the Caribbean "Winter" leagues, there is still plenty of baseball action to keep tabs on. Below is a run down of all the key players spending time trying to sharpen their skills and gain some extra experience during the North American offseason. Dominican Winter Baseball League- David Herndon , a 2010 rookie that spent the entire season on the Phillies' big league roster, is pitching for the Cibao Gigantes. In 2 relief outings, Herndon has pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He hasn't walked or struck out a batter in his limited game time, to this point. Herndon, 25, was a Rule 5 draft pick by the Phillies last off-season. In 47 games in the Majors this season, Herndon posted a 1-3 record with a 4.30 ERA, while allowing just 2 HR in 52 1/3 innings pitched. Antonio Bastardo , a teammate of Herndon with the Phillies this season, continues to occupy the same bullpen as Herndon. In 5 relief outings with the...

It was surely a wild one that thousands of phans will remember for years and will still be talking about when Tuesday night's losing pitcher David Herndon's full head of dark hair resembles former Phillies reliever Larry Andersen's less than full head of greying locks. Another solid start by Cole Hamels (7 innings, 2 ER, 8 K, 1 BB) set the stage for some 9th inning heroics, when Jimmy Rollins slugged a solo homerun to deep right field that tied the game at 2 and sent things to extra innings. The bullpens battled it out, keeping the game locked well past midnight. Ryan Howard capped off the worst game of his career in the bottom of the 14th inning when, with the Phillies having used all their bench players and down to their last relief pitcher, Howard got ejected after he was rung up for his 5th strike out of the night by fill-in umpire Scott Barry. Howard had already stood with his hands on his hips after a check swing was called a strike by the third base ump, Barry, earli...

The Phillies got the new season off to a great start on Monday, as they pounded the Nationals 11-1, in Washington DC. Led by Roy Halladay's 7 strong innings and Placido Polanco's bat, the Phillies won their first season opener since 2005 when Jon Lieber was the winning pitcher for the Phils. On a day when President Obama threw out a very wide ceremonial first pitch, Halladay got off to a bit of a shaky start, as he allowed the Nationals to score in the opening frame, when Ryan Zimmerman slugged an RBI double off the right-centerfield fence. Following that inning, however, Halladay really settled in and kept the Phillies rolling along as he shut down opposing batters with under 10 pitches in multiple innings throughout the game. In 7 innings, Halladay struck out 9 batters on 88 pitches. On the offensive side, it was a nice return to regular season action with the Phils for Placido Polanco. Polanco had a sacrifice fly in the 4th, to cap off an inning where the Phillies sent 11 ba...

In David Herndon's favor is his excellent sinker which has helped him make a solid impression in spring training thus far. Also in Herndon's favor is the fact that he's a Rule 5 pick that must either be on the 25-man Major League roster all season or be offered back to the Angels, the organization he pitched for prior to the Phillies making him a Rule 5 draft pick over the off-season. Additionally in Herndon's favor are delays in the recovery schedules of the injured Brad Lidge and JC Romero. All those factors combined could land Herndon a spot in a big league bullpen. A talented righty reliever, Herndon had not pitched above the Double A level through his 2009 season, but stands a good chance at facing Major League hitters very soon. Herndon, who stands 6-feet 5-inches tall and is 24 years old, has thrown 5 scoreless innings in Grapefruit League play thus far with the Phillies. With Double A level Arkansas in 2009, Herndon had a 5-6 record with 11 saves and a 3.03 ERA ...

News landed on the Phillies world on Monday that JC Romero, who had off-season elbow tendon surgery, would not be ready for opening day, and that Romero was now hoping to be ready for the Phillies' first homestand in the second week of the season. Romero does not expect to face live batters until March 22nd. Speaking to the media, Romero said, "I want to break camp with the team, but I realize that time is against me. That's not good, but I'm very optimistic about being with the team by the first homestand." The Romero setback frees up an extra spot for those pitchers in camp battling for a place with the big club. Guys on the bubble for two open spots include Dave Herndon, a Rule 5 pick from the Angels, who would have to be offered back to Anaheim if he doesn't make the 25-man opening day roster. Also up for a spot are Scott Mathieson, Sergio Escalona, Antonio Bastardo, Mike Zagurski and whichever of the two men competing for the 5th starter spot (Kyle Kendri...