Two Philadelphia Phillies Stars Will Miss Time

Two of the biggest names for the Philadelphia Phillies will be out of the rotation and lineup for different reasons.

Michael Lorenzen has earned extra days of rest following his no-hitter performance against the Washington Nationals on August 9th where he threw a career-high 124 pitches.

That was six days after he threw 101 pitches in his Phillies' debut against the Miami Marlins, a performance that saw him allow two earned runs in eight innings pitched.

Philadelphia is currently using a six-man rotation during this stretch of the schedule that features 18 consecutive games without a day off.

Lorenzen's next start is scheduled to be on August 18th against the Nationals, who he just no-hit.

The 31-year-old was asked how is arm feels after his career's best moment saying it only hurt a bit more than a normal outing.

"But the eight days (off) will help a little bit. Trying to ease back in a routine before my next start should help," the right-hander said.

While the Lorenzen is missing time with a well earned break, Bryce Harper is now day-to-day with back spasms after exiting the series finale against Washington.

It's unclear when it happened, but Harper exited the game in the fifth inning.

"It’s just day to day," Phillies manager Rob Thomson told MLB.com after the game. "We’ll check him out tomorrow."

If the degree of the injury is worse than expected or if it becomes something that is nagging for the rest of the season, that would be a huge blow.

Harper has worked his way back into the lineup and on the field after offseason elbow surgery. It feels like he's starting to get his power back at the plate in time for their playoff run.

Philadelphia starts their weekend road series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday before getting some a much needed day off August 17th.