New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has a sore right shoulder and is expected to be limited to designated hitter until early next week.

Rodriguez said he felt discomfort Thursday and the shoulder bothers him when he throws.

"Just a little bit," Rodriguez said before New York's 9-5 loss to Houston yesterday at Tampa, Fla. "I certainly wouldn't miss a game during the regular season, or have to DH. But I think right now, it's just being smart."

Rodriguez, who went 1 for 2 with a double against the Astros, took part in all drills yesterday except the 10-minute throwing session. At that time, he took extra grounders at third.

"I probably won't throw for a couple days," Rodriguez said. "The swing is good."

The three-time AL MVP had a heat patch on the shoulder before going through pregame drills.

New York manager Joe Girardi thinks A-Rod might play in the field Monday.

"I'm playing on the cautious side," Girardi said.

Yankees catcher Jorge Posada was scratched from yesterday's starting lineup due to a sore right lat muscle, which he felt while throwing on Monday. Posada replaced Rodriguez as the DH in the fifth, and was hitless in three at-bats.

"Everything is fine hitting," Posada said. "I threw today and didn't feel it. I didn't push it, obviously, so it's just day to day. I'm not worried about it."

BRAVES

Oft-injured pitcher Mike Hampton of the Atlanta Braves left his spring training start yesterday against Detroit at Kissimmee, Fla., because of a strained right groin.

Hampton, who hasn't pitched in a major league game since August 2005, made it to the second inning of his second outing this spring before getting hurt. The left hander walked off the mound and into the dugout after throwing 38 pitches, 19 for strikes.

PADRES

San Diego Padres center fielder Jim Edmonds is expected to miss two to three weeks with a strained right calf, a setback for a team that was a bit shaky in the outfield to begin with.

"I'm guarded on this one," manager Bud Black said yesterday afternoon, several hours after the 37-year-old Edmonds had an MRI exam. "I'm hoping for the best that hopefully it'll be a couple of weeks, that's it. I think it will become clearer tomorrow."

METS

Pedro Martinez threw 53 pitches in a simulated game yesterday at Port St. Lucie, Fla., one day after his first scheduled spring start for the New York Mets was rained out.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner said he felt sluggish, especially at the start of his morning session — a time when he's usually stretching and doing his conditioning. He threw the equivalent of two innings and got only two swinging strikes, but declared himself on schedule for the start of the season.

"I didn't feel as comfortable today as the other day, but still I got good work in," Martinez said. "My curveball was so-so. As far as my health and my pitches, I'm right there. I'm OK. I just need to see myself in game situations."

RED SOX

Daisuke Matsuzaka probably won't fly to Tokyo with his teammates because his wife's due date is March 19, the date of the flight, but the Boston Red Sox hope he can join them in his native country.

Boston will play exhibition games March 22 and 23 against Japanese teams then has regular-season games against Oakland on March 25 and 26. Josh Beckett and Matsuzaka are the Red Sox's top two starters.

"I think we're hopeful that (Matsuzaka) will be able to pitch over there," manager Terry Francona said. "If it works (so) he can come over, it'll be good. But he has our blessing to have a baby first."

Matsuzaka's rookie season with Boston last year was a major story in Japan, where he had pitched professionally for eight seasons. He signed a $52 million, six-year contract after Boston paid $51.1 million for the right to negotiate with him. He went 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA and was the winning pitcher in Game 3 of Boston's four-game sweep of Colorado in the World Series.