Josh Edgin only lefty in pen with Tim Byrdak injured
Josh Edgin pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field. (July 21, 2012) Credit: Jim McIsaac
SAN DIEGO -- Josh Edgin will be the Mets' lone bullpen lefty for a while as the team deals with Tim Byrdak's sore shoulder.
The Mets put Byrdak on the disabled list Friday. He will be examined when the team gets back to New York Monday, with an MRI part of the program.
Byrdak said he felt "something in the back of my shoulder roll a bit" after throwing a pitch July 26 in Arizona. Still, he made two more appearances in San Francisco before agreeing that it was time to shut it down.
Byrdak leads the majors in appearances with 56. He's 2-2 with a 4.40 ERA.
"Tim's been absolutely outstanding all season for us," manager Terry Collins said. "We're going to miss him down there for the next couple weeks. Hopefully, that's all it is. Certainly, he's had some kind of workload. I'm not surprised that there's a little fatigue in the shoulder. Hopefully, that's all it is. We're going to miss him, no doubt."
Edgin pitched two scoreless innings in Saturday night's 6-2 win over the Padres, allowing only a single. He is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 12 appearances. The Mets are not planning to bring up another lefty.
"Now he's the sole guy there at the particular moment," Collins said. "We've got to be careful that we don't overdo it with him."
Wally world
Triple-A Buffalo manager Wally Backman was suspended three games by the International League for getting into a heated argument with Syracuse manager Tony Beasley during Saturday's game. Beasley was suspended for two games. The beef apparently was over allegations of sign-stealing.
"I'm looking for the tape of it," Collins said. "It'll probably be somewhere. It'll be entertaining."
Bay watch
Jason Bay was not in the lineup against righthander Edinson Volquez. Collins said he will return Sunday against righthander Jason Marquis, against whom Bay is 16-for-45 (.356) with five home runs.
