Phillies starter Vince Velasquez exits with biceps soreness

PHILADEPHIA -- Phillies pitcher Vince Velasquez left Wednesday's start against the Chicago Cubs with biceps soreness after throwing only two pitches. He is expected to be re-evaluated Thursday.

Velasquez, whose fastball averages 94 mph, threw his first two pitches of the game at 86 and 87 mph. After Chicago leadoff hitterDexter Fowler flied out to right field, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin and trainer Scott Sheridan visited the mound, and Velasquez was replaced by reliever Brett Oberholtzer.

After the Phillies' 8-1 loss to the Cubs, the right-hander said he was "not concerned at all" and said he thought his issues were "minor" compared to what he felt before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2011. He said he'd had no issues in any previous starts or throwing sessions before he threw a pitch while warming up that caused the "aggravation."

"Historically, biceps are not a danger area," Mackanin said. "Not to diminish the possibility of it being bad, but it's not an elbow. It's not a shoulder. So we'll just have to wait and see what the evaluation is."

Velasquez, 24, came over to the Phillies from Houston in a December trade that sent reliever Ken Giles to the Astros.

Velasquez went 5-2 with a 3.67 ERA in his first 11 starts and struck out 73 batters in 61 innings. His season highlight came on April 14, when he threw a 16-strikeout, no-walk, complete-game shutout in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Padres.

His shoulder was reportedly a source of concern during trade discussions between the Phillies and Astros in December.

Asked whether it was frustrating to think he might miss some time, Velasquez replied: "I think I'll be fine. I don't think I'm going to miss that much time, but I don't know what to expect. I can't give you a legitimate answer because I don't know what's going on. From what I know, it's a strain and we'll see how it goes tomorrow."

The Phillies haven't said how they would replace Velasquez in their rotation if he's forced to miss time. However, they did scratch right-hander Zach Eflin from his scheduled start Wednesday for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.