The Phillies, for all their strengths, could really use a left-handed power bat off the bench. And yes, that still holds true despite signing discarded Mariners DH Jack Cust to a minor-league contract.

Some buzz is starting to be heard that the Phillies could make a play for none other than Jim Thome, who recently hit his 600th home run. They have until Aug. 31 to make a waiver deal that would make him eligible for the postseason roster.

Thome, who played for the Phillies from 2003 to 2005, has never won a World Series (though he lost two with the Indians). It is believed the Twins would be open to sending Thome to a contender to help him fulfill the last goal of a Hall of Fame career, and the Phillies are the most logical choice.

"I think it's every player's dream to win, and I don't know, to be honest," he told reporters when asked, 24 hours after his 600th homer, if he would consider joining a contender for the rest of the season. "That's something, until that happens, is hard for me to comment on that out of respect, out of respect to this (tapping his Twins jersey)."

It's something to watch closely over the next two weeks. Thome turns 41 on Aug. 27 and has had two stints on the disabled list this year. He has not yet decided if he will play next season.

Fine landing spot for Centralia's Overbay

Lyle Overbay was washing his car in Centralia last Friday when his agent called.

Overbay, who had been released the previous week by the Pirates, was very interested in what he was being told: Diamondbacks outfielder Xavier Nady had fractured his hand, and Arizona general manager Kevin Towers had called with interest in Overbay.

A deal was finalized later that night, bringing Overbay back to the team with which he began his major-league career in 2001. And on Tuesday, Overbay hit a two-run double with one out in the ninth inning — off Roy Halladay, no less — to give the Diamondbacks a 3-2 win over the Phillies. Overbay also drove in Arizona's other run with a second-inning single.

"It's crazy. You're sitting at home thinking what kind of opportunity you're going to get, knowing in mid-August there are not too many moves going to be made," Overbay, 34, told reporters.

"I couldn't have hoped for this in a million years. I couldn't be in a better position. I just want to enjoy the ride."

Notes and quotes

• When it comes to run support, Tim Lincecum is being treated like a Mariners pitcher. The Giants have scored zero runs in 10 of his 26 starts.

On Thursday, for instance, Lincecum limited the Braves to just one run in seven innings, a Chipper Jones homer. But he took a 1-0 loss to fall to 11-10.

"Nothing else he could've done," manager Bruce Bochy told reporters, "except hit a couple of home runs."

Lincecum has a 1.17 earned-run average since the All-Star break and a 4-3 record to show for it. Overall, he has a 2.53 ERA.

• The Giants' offense had been hoping to get a boost from the acquisition of Carlos Beltran from the Mets. But Beltran has played in just 11 games since the July 28 trade (which cost the Giants top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler) and is on the disabled list with a strained right hand.

• Here's what Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski told The Detroit Free Press after sending right-handed pitcher Chance Ruffin to the Mariners to complete the trade that brought pitchers Doug Fister and David Pauley.

Ruffin was the Tigers' No. 7-rated prospect by Baseball America. The Mariners also netted Detroit's No. 4 prospect (third baseman Francisco Martinez) in the deal, as well as two players currently on Seattle's major-league roster, outfielder Casper Wells and pitcher Charlie Furbush.

"As we said at the time, we like Fister a great deal — not only to help us now, but for the future," Dombrowski said. "We felt if we were going to trade a lot of talent, it made sense to do it for someone who could be in our rotation for years. Plus, Pauley could help us this year.

"Also, we felt Fister was one of the few starting pitchers that we could acquire and make a difference for us. We did not want to trade any of the players, but we also felt we had depth at those positions and kept some other quality prospects we have."

Entering this week, Fister was 2-1 with a 4.59 ERA in four starts, while Pauley was 0-1, 4.76 in five relief appearances.