"Reliever Brad Lidge had a tough outing against the Trenton Thunder on Thursday night.

Lidge, who has been out all season with a shoulder injury, made his fifth minor-league rehabilitation appearance -- his second straight with the Reading Phillies -- the Phillies' Double-A affiliate.

In a 9-5 loss to Trenton, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, Lidge pitched two-thirds of the seventh inning and struggled the whole way.

He hit two batters, walked another, threw three wild pitches, gave up two runs and allowed one hit. He threw 28 pitches, 15 of them strikes, but had little command of his fastball. He was pulled by Reading manager Mark Parent to a smattering of boos at Waterfront Park.

"It was an interesting outing for me because I felt like my fastball was the best it's been, coming back, but my control was not very good at all tonight," said Lidge, who entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to plenty of cheers.

"I felt good. I wanted to stay out there. I wanted to keep throwing. I used a lot of pitches, but I know I'm going to have outings like that when I get back to Philly. There's going to be an inning like that at some point, where you have to grind and get through it a little bit. It was a step up for my velocity and a step back for my control. But, we've got some outings to work on that."

Lidge, who hopes to rejoin the Phillies in Philadelphia next Friday, was clocked at 89 or 90 mph.

"Ninety (mph), it's continuing to go up, that's about as good as I've been," the reliever said. "Last year when I came back, I was about 89 or 90. When I got to Philly, I was 92, 93. I'm in the area now where I feel like my stuff has gotten just about all the way back. My control is not where I want it."