LOS ANGELES — Six weeks removed from a lat strain, Spencer Turnbull will get back on a mound this week, while Taijuan Walker could be back with the Phillies as soon as Tuesday.
Weather pushed Walker's second rehab start back a day, which removed him from consideration to return to the Phillies' rotation this weekend in Arizona, but he was on the mound Wednesday afternoon with Double A Reading in Akron and allowed one run over five innings.
Walker threw 60 pitches. He could rejoin the Phillies as soon as Tuesday against the Marlins to begin a six-game homestand.
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Walker's velocity was up to the 93 mph range in his first rehab start, a crucial sign for a pitcher whose average fastball was down from 93 last season to 90-91 this season.
"Hopefully he can maintain that because if he's 93, and the split was really good … it's a good sign," manager Rob Thomson said earlier this week.
Walker was initially in play to start Sunday in Arizona in the final game of the Phillies' West Coast trip but Lehigh Valley's game was rained out. The Phillies quickly figured out a contingency plan to send him somewhere dry. If he does start Tuesday at home, he'd be on five days' rest.
These are the Phillies' pitching matchups the rest of the week:
Philadelphia Phillies
Wednesday at Dodgers: Tyler Phillips vs. Gavin Stone
Thursday at Diamondbacks: LHP Kolby Allard vs. LHP Jordan Montgomery
Friday at Diamondbacks: Zack Wheeler vs. Ryne Nelson
Saturday at Diamondbacks: Aaron Nola vs. Zac Gallen
Sunday at Diamondbacks: LHP Cristopher Sanchez vs. TBD
Turnbull ramping up
The Phillies placed Turnbull on the injured list on June 27 with a right lat strain and expected him to miss 6-to-8 weeks. Thursday will be the six-week mark.
Turnbull has been working out in Clearwater and is expected to get back on a mound this week, Thomson said.
The Phillies will bring him back as a reliever. There simply isn't enough time to stretch him back out to start.
"It's gonna be tough at this point. We'll stretch him out as much as we can but it would be tough to get him to 100 pitches," Thomson said.
Turnbull has a 2.65 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 58 strikeouts in 54⅓ innings this season. He pitched to a 1.78 ERA as a starter and a 4.26 ERA in 19 relief appearances, finding a rhythm just before the injury by allowing one run over 8⅔ innings.
"He started to get his routine down, his process down," Thomson said. "That's a big deal for these guys because he's been a starter his whole life and now he has to figure out when do I play catch, when do I get it going, how long do I need, what if I get up and have to stop and then have to get up later in the game and I've had Tommy John (surgery). All these things go through your head so it's difficult for some guys.
"I think he'd be very comfortable because I think he understands we don't have a whole lot of time here. He wants to win. He's pitching for a contract, too. I talked to him earlier in the year while he was still in the rotation and I said, you know, there's a lot of value in a guy who teams know can start and come out of the bullpen."