In his last outing, Cliff Lee managed to go six innings and give up just two earned runs. But he was held back in the number of batters he would face, as Charlie Manuel limited him to just 84 pitches as a result of his recent return from the disabled list.
According to Cholly, via MLB.com, Lee won't be limited when he takes the mound on Tuesday.
"Last time he pitched, I wanted to send him back out," Manuel said. "It crossed my mind, yes. But I didn't want to get him hurt."
The start against the Mets last Wednesday was Lee's first start since coming off the disabled list with a strained left oblique.
So, in that sense, the plan of attack from Manuel is sensible. Lee didn't need to overwork his side simply for the sake of cranking up his innings.
But the results were disastrous, as Kyle Kendrick came in and promptly got shellacked for five runs in a single inning. (Have we mentioned anything about the bullpen being terrible at any point during the recent few weeks? I can't remember.)
This time around, Lee will presumably get full run. Of course, what makes the idea of "full run" interesting is that Lee hasn't thrown more than 102 pitches in a single game this year. Lee's typically more of a workhorse than that, having gone 120 pitches or more six times in the last two years, without actually taking into account his ridiculous efficiency.
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Lee's got a pretty superb matchup too, going against the relatively hapless Astros. Interestingly, though, he's got a career 6.89 ERA against Houston, though he's only pitched 15.2 innings against Houston in his career. Ideally for Philly, he picks up another nine on Tuesday.
