Phillies Notes: Revere shrugs off batting title talk

In midst of the Phillies' struggles, centerfielder Ben Revere finds himself in the race for the National League batting crown.

Revere was batting .315 after Monday's game, second in the National League to Colorado's Justin Morneau at .323.

Revere insists he isn't consumed with the idea of being in a batting race.

"Honestly, I don't pay much attention," he said before the game. "As long as I can help the team win, that is the main thing."

He said giving a potential batting title much thought would be a recipe for disaster.

"If you start thinking about [it], that is when you will start struggling," he said. "People have brought it up to me, but I am taking it one game at a time . . ."

Revere has been on a sustained run. Since June 26, he leads all major-league players with 70 hits and a .376 average. And he's doing this with a gimpy, surgically repaired right ankle.

There are two screws in the ankle that will be removed sometime after the season. He said it is painful when he decelerates.

"I don't worry about it much because it can't get worse," Revere said. "It is going to be aggravating, but luckily I am not worried too much and I am able to keep my focus on the game."

Jimmy Rollins, who is hitting .175 with a .437 OPS in August, was not in the Phillies starting lineup against Seattle.

"It's a little break for him," manager Ryne Sandberg said before the game. "He has had a pretty good string of games and this gives him a day to regroup and get his feet underneath him."

Rollins had started 16 straight games.

John Mayberry Jr., who was placed on the disabled list on July 22 with left wrist inflammation, will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with triple-A Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs will play a four-game series at Pawtucket.

"It's good to go. I have passed all the tests and it is time to put it in a game," Mayberry said.

Sandberg said Mayberry could play six to eight games in his rehab. Mayberry is batting .213 with six home runs, 21 RBIs and a .722 OPS.

The Phillies won't face Seattle righthander Felix Hernandez, a leading American League Cy Young candidate, in this three-game series.

Hernandez is 13-4 with a 1.99 ERA. Opponents are batting .195 against the five-time all-star, who won the Cy Young in 2010.