Roy Oswalt: All Good Things Must Come to an End

Roy Oswalt was not his usual effective self Tuesday night.

The Philadelphia Phillies righty lasted just three [awful] innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, surrendering five runs on six hits with a walk and not one strikeout on 57 pitches. So what the hell is going on?

Manager Charlie Manuel offered this insight on his hurler's evening:

"His stuff wasn’t good. His stuff wasn’t crisp and his velocity was down. I figured there was no sense in leaving him out there. He wasn't right."

Of course, the first thing on Phillies' fans minds is whether or not Roy is healthy. According to his skipper, there's nothing apparently wrong with him.

Coming into last night, Oswalt had given up just five runs over 24 innings in his first four starts this season, without losing a game since July 30, 2010. All good things must come to an end, I suppose.

Fun Fact: The Phillies remain just two wins shy of their franchise record for most victories in the month of April (17). The team has one more game against the Diamondbacks with Cole Hamels on the mound against Joe Saunders in a battle of lefties before the first two of a three-game series against the New York Mets close out the month.

Speaking of Philadelphia, Jose Contreras will miss 3-4 weeks after straining his 39-year-old throwing elbow. With Brad Lidge already out until the All-Star break with a strained rotator cuff, Ryan Madsen will take over closing duties. Get well soon Phillies arms!

[Hardball Talk]