Phillies' Lidge now likely out until July
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge likely will be out until around the July All-Star break, the injured pitcher said on Thursday.
"I sure hope to be on the mound by the All-Star break," Lidge told reporters. "If I'm not, I'll be disappointed."
The right-hander, 34, learned last month he had a right posterior rotator cuff strain in his shoulder. That put him on the disabled list for the second consecutive season.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Philadelphia, the National League favorite, had originally expected him to miss at least three to six weeks.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Frank Pingue)