Richmond returns to winning form; good timing as Doc goes on the DL

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This article was published 18/06/2009 (6275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PHILADELPHIA — Scott Richmond struck out a career-high 11 in eight innings, Aaron Hill hit a two-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-1 on Wednesday night.

Richmond (5-3) allowed five hits and retired his last 13 batters. The 29-year-old rookie from North Vancouver was 0-3 with a 5.81 ERA in his previous five starts.

Jayson Werth homered for the NL East-leading Phillies, who fell to 13-18 at home. The defending World Series champions are a major league-best 23-9 on the road.

Rod Barajas and Scott Rolen hit solo shots against their former team, one night after each had a key hit in Toronto’s 8-3 comeback win over the Phillies.

Earlier Wednesday, the Jays announced that ace Roy Halladay’s sore groin will force the right-hander to the 15-day disabled list. He will be joined by closer Scott Downs, who sprained his left big toe as he bolted from the batter’s box in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

An e-mail from a team official confirmed Halladay will go on the DL rather than start in Washington on Saturday.

The move is expected to be retroactive to June 13, the day after Halladay’s last start against Florida ended after just three innings.

Toronto is expected to announce roster replacements for Halladay and Downs today. Earlier Wednesday, the Jays placed starter Casey Janssen on the DL and called up Brad Mills from triple-A to start in Janssen’s place on Thursday.

On Tuesday, Halladay threw on flat ground and as late as Wednesday afternoon general manager J.P. Ricciardi said the pitcher’s status for a tentative start on Saturday would be decided after a bullpen session before Wednesday night’s game against the Phillies.

At the time, the GM said Halladay would miss a maximum of two starts.

“I think the big thing is knowing that Doc is right now not going to be out for a long time,” said Ricciardi. “So if it’s two starts, obviously knowing he’s going to be out there every fifth day going forward is a lot better than not having him.”

Assuming Toronto backdates Halladay’s DL date, the earliest he would be eligible to return would be against Philadelphia on June 28.

On Wednesday morning, as he awaited the results of Downs’ MRI, manager Cito Gaston told a Toronto radio station he was clearly worried about losing his closer for an extended period.

“We’re hoping that it’s only a week but it could be up to six weeks and that is real bad news for us,” Gaston said on The Fan 590.

Downs has anchored the Blue Jays bullpen in the wake of B.J. Ryan’s flame-out. Downs owns a 1.98 earned-run average in 26 appearances and is 8-for-9 in save opportunities.

— From the wire services