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In progress: Phillies-Reds afternoon rubber match

Right-handers Mike Leake and Roy Halladay toe the slab in the third and final game from Great American Ballpark. Michael Martinez starts at third, which is frankly inexcusable when you're working with expanded rosters. The guy stinks. He's hitting .122. He's easily the worst Phillie of the last five years. Quit trying to make Mini-Mart happen. It's not going to happen. Meanwhile, we're waiting for Domonic Brown to happen. His last hit came on Aug. 23. [Jump to the newest comments]

Game chat: Rollins reaches for 2K milestone

Jimmy Rollins needs another hit to reach 2,000 in his career. He'll have a shot tonight against Mat Latos and the Reds in the second of three from Great American Ballpark. First pitch is 7:10. Kyle Kendrick (8-9, 4.01) tries to take another step toward a double digit-win season, which would be his fourth. The Phillies are hoping for more success against the Reds; they've won nine of their last 11 against them and 14 of their last 17. Meanwhile, Nate Schierholtz earns his first start since coming off the disabled list (big toe). The Phils are hanging around the Wild Card discussion, but need a number of teams, like the Cardinals and Braves, to go ice cold. A couple of opponents - the Pirates and Diamondbacks - have started falling by the wayside. [Jump to the newest comments]

Transaction: Phillies select Orr's contract from AAA

Veteran utlityman Pete Orr joins the Phillies' expanded roster after spending the better part of the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Orr, 33, hit .258/.314/.354 with four homers and 16 stolen bases in 332 plate appearances with the IronPigs, playing mostly third base with some scattered work all over the diamond. Orr's promotion reflects the "emergency only" status of Placido Polanco, who is available only as a pinch hitter. Orr, who made the Phillies' Opening Day roster the last two seasons, last appeared with the Phils on June 2 as a pinch hitter. In 42 plate appearances between Opening Day and June 2, he hit .286/.302/.429. 

Game chat: Brown back in as Cloyd draws Cincy

Domonic Brown returns to the Phillies lineup against right-handed Cy Young candidate Johnny Cueto when the Phillies open a Labor Day set in Cincinnati. First pitch is 1:05. Right-hander Tyler Cloyd takes his second turn in the Phillies' rotation as the hometown nine tries to forget Sunday night's painful loss in Atlanta. Steven Larud starts behind the plate. Juan Pierre will be in left with John Mayberry Jr.'s hot bat assigned to center field. [Jump to the newest comments]

Worst loss of the season? Too many to count

"When you're five games below .500 and eight games out of the last playoff spot with 29 left, it is a mathematical impossibility to suffer your worst loss ever," argues one reader. "Hell, it wasn't even the worst loss of the year on games ending on Chipper Jones walk-off homeruns."

Worst loss of the year? "I honestly can't even keep track at this point. There have been so many of them. The three that would probably stand out in anyone's mind are the Jordany Valdespin walk-off, the Cliff Lee 10-inning shutout, and the 15-13 loss on the first Chipper Jones walk-off. But discerning the worst loss is largely a matter of aesthetics." - bay_area_phan (who also contributed the summary quote)

Pap smear: "Papelbon is 31 for 35 in save situations (89 percent) this year. He also has come into a tie game four times and lost it by giving up at least a run. Also had another appearance where he blew the lead but the Phils game back to win (Thome PH walk-off vs Rays on June 23). So Papelbon has blown eight games this year where the Phils were ahead/tied when he appeared in 43 appearances. Need to see other similar numbers for benchmark comparison but that isn't terribly impressive.

"I don't know many Phils' fans who have taken a likening to him. On the field, he works at a crawling pace and combines it with his unnecessary theatrics. Off the field, Papelbon just comes out as your prototypical meathead athlete. Almost always think of Nuke LaLoosh when Papelbon speaks. It almost painful at times to watch him give interviews especially after a game." - MG

Frandsen's fatal error: "You can watch the play on video. It was pretty routine. It did take a bad hop at the end, which made it look like a tough play. But it would never have taken than bad hop if Kevin Frandsen had charged it and played it on the high hop -- which most third baseman would have done without any great difficulty. There was absolutely no risk to charging it. It was not a hot smash, but a slow hopper. It was not going to go down the line if he had misplayed it." - bay_area_phan

Sunday chat: Phils look to take a bite from Braves

The Phillies try to maintain their steady second-half ascent in a 5:05 p.m. tilt Sunday evening against the Braves. The Phils have taken two from the Wild Card leaders to climb to eight back.

De Fratus, Diekman promoted: As expected, the Phillies have promoted right-hander Justin De Fratus and lefty Jake Diekman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs were eliminated from postseason contention on Saturday. De Fratus, 24, was 0-1 with a 2.49 ERA and 22/3 K/BB in 21 2-3 innings. Elbow problems cut his season season short right out of the chute in spring training. Otherwise, he would have been part of the bullpen picture. De Fratus, who appeared in five games with the Phillies last season, is considered a top prospect based on his ability to not only miss bats, but throw strikes. This will be Diekman's second stint with the club. The lefty showed flashes of promise over a two-and-a-half month audition with the parent club, but struggled with his command, posting a 29/15 K/BB in 21 1-3 innings. Diekman and the Phils should benefit from the favorable matches the expanded roster will provide.

Meanwhile, the Phils are keeping their names in the discussion for a miracle Wild Card berth and have played about as well as anyone in the current field of late. [Jump to the newest comments]

Saturday chat: Phillies set for September showcase

The Phillies' roster will balloon to 26 bodies today when outfielder Nate Schierholtz (big toe) becomes the first official September call-up. The Phils and Braves continue their series at 4:05.

Beerleaguer: Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com believes Triple-A reliever Justin De Fratus and Double-A home run king Darin Ruf, who broke Ryan Howard's single season home run mark with his 38th shot Thursday, will eventually join the Phils when their minor league seasons conclude. The Phils have an opening on their 40-man roster for 'Babe Ruf,' who belted a record-breaking 20 home runs in August.

In terms of timing, the IronPigs are down three games in the Wild Card race, with three remaining, so their season will likely end Monday. Ruf and the R-Phils have a magic number of two to qualify for the postseason with three games remaining.

Meanwhile, the Phils did not pull the trigger on a last-minute deal as the waiver trade deadline came and went Friday at midnight. Nevertheless, the Phils, who've played like a contender of late, continue to gain valuable knowledge in a number of areas. They'd much rather round out their 2013 roster cheaply and internally rather than rely on older, expensive, free agent retreads. Catcher Erik Kratz, a hero in Friday's 8-5 win, appears to be a viable option at this point. Kevin Frandsen has shown he can handle himself in the Majors. The Phils have also seen life in John Mayberry's bat; the club could go a number of directions in the outfield, with as many as three openings to fill, either through platoons or a full-time free agent, like Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera or someone else. Needless to say, the Phils have much to consider.

Speaking of internal options, the Phils are grooming a pair of managerial prospects in Triple-A skipper Ryne Sandberg and Reading boss Dusty Wathan. Sandberg, who has made the most of a bad and depleted IronPigs roster, will be part of a Major League coaching staff, either here or elsewhere, next season. Wathan, a former journeyman catcher, seems to win wherever he goes and could continue his climb with an opportunity at Triple-A. Charlie Manuel's contract expires after next season.