Phils manager Charlie Manuel named his starter for Sunday - Cole Hamels.

UPDATED: Twenty-four hours after Indecision 2008 began - when the Phillies weren't ready to commit to Cole for this weekend - the team decided to keep their ace on his normal, four days of rest in between starts.

Hamels, who tossed 7 1/3 shutout innings in the Phils 4-0 win Tuesday night, will pitch Sunday night against Johan Santana and the New York Mets on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.

"This kid has prepared himself well all year and he’s preserved himself well," Phils pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "I think right now he’s physically fit to do this, I know he’s competitive enough."

By moving Hamels after Jamie Moyer in the rotation, the Phillies skip the struggling Kyle Kendrick and brush aside the chance to give Cole an extra day of rest. The Phils are off Thursday.

The oft-injured Hamels, who appeared to have been leaning toward wanting the extra day a night earlier, said Wednesday afternoon that he's ready to take on the Mets. He wants to be the guy his team can count on in a big game.

"Of course. That's the way it was in high school, when you have two pitchers and one is your main guy, which is what I was," Hamels said. "The main guy when it's the playoffs, the championship, the big division rivalry. T

"That's what I want to be, and that's what I've been able to learn. Finally, I get that time to step up to the plate. I definitely know I'm ready for it."






(Sorry for no details earlier, I just wanted to get the news up as early as possible, so I filed from my phone in the dugout).