Lidge threw a four-seam fastball that consistently reached 95–97 miles per hour, as well as a hard, sharp breaking slider that ranged from 85 to 87 mph.

Lidge missed parts of his first four professional seasons (at Quad Cities, Kissimmee, Round Rock, and New Orleans) with injuries, including a torn rotator cuff and a broken forearm that threatened his career.

He would overcome these injuries, making his MLB debut on April 26, 2002, against the Atlanta Braves, serving as a middle relief pitcher in the Astros' bullpen.

Lidge went 2-for-2 with a double and 2 RBIs at the plate, but was pulled when he strained an intercostal muscle in his ribcage after pitching three scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two walks and a hit batsman.

[8] Following the trades of Billy Wagner in the 2003 off-season and Octavio Dotel in the summer of 2004, the Astros moved Lidge from setup man to closer.

[12] He regained the closer role at the start of June, but was placed on the disabled list that same month after suffering a strained left oblique muscle.

Although Lidge described to reporters that the injury bothered him less towards the end of the day, Garner chose to shut his closer down in order to keep the muscle strain from becoming a larger issue.

[16] After the season, Lidge underwent surgery to repair a cartilage tear in his right knee, with the anticipation that he would be healthy for the beginning of spring training.

[17] On November 7, 2007, Lidge was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Eric Bruntlett for Geoff Geary, Michael Bourn, and Mike Costanzo.

In May, Lidge returned to Minute Maid Park, where he was greeted by a mixed reaction from Astros fans, but he recorded his 12th save of the season against his former team.

He opened the month of June, usually the start of the summer's heavy-hitting season, with three saves earned in three straight games versus the Florida Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds.

He saved the decisive Game 5 of the 2008 World Series in Philadelphia on October 29, 2008 over the Tampa Bay Rays with a strikeout, to make him seven-for-seven in postseason saves, thus completing his perfect season (a record he shares with John Wetteland, Troy Percival, Koji Uehara, Zach Britton and Greg Holland; Robb Nen was also 7 for 7 in 2002 before he blew one on the 8th opportunity).

[22] Lidge was voted the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association's Outstanding Pro Athlete of the Year award and honored at their annual dinner on January 26, 2009.

[30] Lidge finished the season with a win–loss record of 0–8, an ERA of 7.21, and 31 saves in 42 opportunities, and he allowed an average of 1.81 walks plus hits per inning pitched.

In Game 4 of the series, Lidge pitched in relief of Scott Eyre to retire the last two batters with the Phillies trailing 4–3 in the ninth inning.

Lidge underwent elbow surgery in January 2010,[34] and he pitched in rehabilitation games with the Phillies' minor league teams (Clearwater, Reading, & Lehigh Valley) during the beginning of the 2010 season.

[35] He made his first major league appearance of the season on April 30 against the New York Mets, surrendering a home run to the first batter he faced and recording one out before being removed from the game.

After entering spring training fully healthy, Lidge was shut down on March 25 with pain in the back of his right shoulder, which he said was a new occurrence.

[36] An MRI revealed a posterior rotator cuff strain that did not require surgery, but would take three to six weeks to heal, and he began the 2011 MLB season on the disabled list.

[37] He underwent an eight-game rehab assignment with Lakewood and Reading, going 0–0 with a 3.52 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings before returning to the Phillies roster on July 22.

[44] He had not been signed as a closer for Washington, but after Drew Storen suffered from elbow inflammation during spring training, the team prepared to use Lidge and Henry Rodríguez in the ninth inning.

[46] After allowing four earned runs in seven innings and blowing two saves, Lidge was placed on the disabled list with an abdominal wall strain.

[47] After pitching a perfect inning in a rehab assignment for the Class A-Advanced Potomac Nationals, Lidge was able to rejoin the Washington active roster on June 7, a week earlier than expected; he effectively replaced Rodríguez, who was placed on the disabled list with a strained finger.

The Nationals designated Lidge for assignment on June 17 after two poor outings against the New York Yankees, and Ryan Mattheus was activated in his place.