"Twelve hours or so after he walked off the mound and into the dugout nursing a sore back, Cole Hamels wasn't particularly interested in fielding questions about his potential injury.

Of course, he didn't seem too concerned about its severity either.

"It's not like I'm injured," Hamels said before Wednesday's early game against Florida. "I'll talk to you in five days."

The assumption then is that the lefty will have no trouble making his next scheduled start in Seattle on Sunday, which is good news for the Phillies.

Hamels threw seven strong innings Tuesday, winning his ninth game of the season and lowering his ERA to 2.49 before departing one batter into the eighth with back stiffness.

"It just kind of tightened up on me," Hamels said Tuesday night. "Obviously I don't want to hurt anything, so (I was) trying to play it smart."

So while there was genuine concern in the immediate aftermath, the injury appeared to be a non-issue.

"I haven't thought about Hamels' next start," manager Charlie Manuel offered when pressed on the subject. "But yeah, he's gonna make his next start."

Lidge throwing

Brad Lidge's 2011 season has already been filled with stops and starts, and he's yet to throw a pitch in a major league game. But the right-hander is hoping his latest first step will be the start of a smooth track back to the active roster.

Lidge has been shelved since the end of spring training with a rotator cuff injury, but he had started pitching in extended spring training late last month. A few days in, however, elbow and shoulder soreness provided yet another setback.

"(After) the two months off for my shoulder, basically I had to go through it," Lidge said. "It was almost inevitable that I had to go through it, and the good thing is we know how to deal with it when I do get it.""