Phillies Notes | Ailing Madson put on 15-day DL

SAN FRANCISCO - The Phillies lost another arm from their already depleted bullpen yesterday when they placed righthander

Ryan Madson

on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left abdominal muscle before a 9-4 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park.

Madson was 0-2 with a 3.63 ERA in 12 appearances.

The Phillies recalled righthander Clay Condrey (0-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three games) from triple-A Ottawa, who will be available for tonight's series finale.

Madson said the muscle has bothered him since spring training, but not until Thursday's 9-7 win over the Giants had it affected the way he pitched; he allowed two hits, a run and two walks in 1 2/3 innings Thursday. It was the first run he had allowed in his last seven games.

"It actually affected the way I threw Thursday, and that's when I knew I might need to stop before I hurt my arm or something else," said Madson, who will have the muscle scanned tomorrow in Philadelphia. "It [stinks]. But the way I pitched the other night, I can't go out there and pitch like that and affect the outcome of the game just because I'm trying to pitch through something. I've got to get it fixed."

Madson said he expected to be back in the bullpen May 20, the day he is eligible to be activated.

Major League Baseball will survey teams to determine what each franchise's policy is on alcohol in clubhouses in the wake of the death of

Josh Hancock

.

The St. Louis pitcher died last week a crash. Missouri officials have said he had been driving with twice the legal amount of alcohol allowed by state law.

The Associated Press reported that 12 to 15 teams have inquired about an Oakland A's policy adopted last year that banned alcohol from the team's home and road clubhouses. The Phillies say they have yet to discuss a ban. Beer is available in both clubhouses at Citizens Bank Park.

Ryan Howard

wasn't in the starting lineup yesterday against Giants lefthander

Noah Lowry

. He pinch-hit in the eighth inning against lefty

Steve Kline

and flied out to left, stranding a runner on second.

Howard is hitting .198 with four home runs and 17 RBIs. He has struggled miserably against lefthanders, hitting just .132 (5 for 38) with two home runs and eight RBIs. He also has struck out an eye-popping 21 times against them.

Howard has been bothered by a sore left quadriceps since spring training and missed three games last month with a sprained ligament below his left knee. But Manuel said that Howard's struggles are more mental than physical and that he hoped the rest could help Howard clear his head.

- Todd Zolecki