Roy Halladay throws for first time since injury

TORONTO - Roy Halladay remained with his Phillies teammates during what must have been a maddening period of inactivity for one of the game's hardest workers. During recent batting practice, Halladay took a spot in center field and ran back and forth, shagging balls. But when he caught one, he could only flip it underhanded.

It had been 19 days from the time Halladay last threw a baseball until Friday afternoon. He lightly tossed 30 times to pitching coach Rich Dubee from about 60 feet at Rogers Centre, and that was that.

Cross another step off the list in his recovery from a muscle strain behind his right shoulder.

"I felt good," Halladay said. "This is one of the steps. It was good. The other [steps] have been good so far, so we'll go from there."

Dubee was even more optimistic.

"He actually felt better than he expected," Dubee said. "It was good."

Six to eight weeks was the original estimate for Halladay's return, but that was entirely dependent on how he reacted to this first test of throwing. So far, so good.

He was supposed to not throw for three weeks, but ultimately that was bumped up by two days. Halladay will throw again Sunday, likely the same number of pitches from the same distance, and could be doing more by Tuesday.

He must still throw multiple bullpen sessions and make a few minor-league rehab starts before he can pitch in the majors again.

"I've still got a long ways to go," Halladay said. "It's just one of the parts of it. I want to pitch. I'll be anxious to get out there and pitch. That's the big one."

Dubee said Halladay was effectively symptom-free, but more strenuous work will be the better judge. Halladay, notorious for his work ethic, has been diligent in not pushing the limits of the rehab plan, Dubee said.

"There's been a lot of work put in," Dubee said. "He didn't just put his feet up and rest. He's been working. But he's been good about it."

Just when Domonic Brown was reentering the collective consciousness of Philadelphia, the erstwhile top prospect suffered a knee injury Thursday.

Right-knee inflammation was tentatively diagnosed before Brown underwent an MRI on Friday afternoon, assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said. The results were not immediately available.

The injury comes at an inopportune time for Brown, who was finally finding his stroke at triple-A Lehigh Valley while playing regularly. Brown was hitting .300 in 11 June games with three home runs and a .939 OPS.

But injuries have long affected his path to the majors. Last month, he was hampered by a lingering left hamstring injury. In spring training he was sidelined by thumb and neck injuries. In spring 2011, he fractured the hamate bone in his wrist, costing him most of Grapefruit League play.

After a search that involved eight Twins employees, according to the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Jim Thome's 607th home-run ball originally was deemed lost after it disappeared into a flower bed Thursday at Target Field. But the ball was found Friday morning and will be shipped to Philadelphia for Thome's collection. . . . Former Phillies prospect Kyle Drabek, once traded for Halladay, was placed on the disabled list by Toronto. He may need another Tommy John surgery, depending on an examination by James Andrews. . . . The Phillies signed outfielder Jason Pridie, who hit .231 in 101 games for the Mets in 2011, to a minor-league deal.

Contact Matt Gelb at mgelb@phillynews.com or follow on Twitter @magelb.