NEW YORK -- Chris Young is moving up to Triple-A Buffalo as he continues his rehab to work his way back to Flushing. Young will be making the start for Buffalo on Thursday, his fourth since he underwent surgery on his torn anterior capsule on May 16, 2011.

He will start against Columbus, receiving an extra day of rest. The team is hoping he can be the fifth starter down the road, providing consistency at the back end of the rotation.

TEJADA: Ruben Tejada will not play in a rehab game Monday, but he will instead probably hit and take grounders, according to manager Terry Collins. The shortstop has been on the disabled list since May 7 with a right quad strain.

"He still has some point tenderness in the thigh. It has not changed," Collins said. "When he ran the bases, he said he was still uncomfortable so we slowed him down."

Tejada ran the bases Friday but it just went "so-so," according to Collins. The manager still says there has been no setback, although he hoped the shortstop would be able to start playing in minor league games as early as Monday.

"It didn't heal as fast as I had hoped but that's what every manager wants is a guy to heal and get well fast," Collins said. "Anytime you have a strained muscle, it may take three weeks, we were hoping it was going to be fast, but it looks like it's going to have to take the course."

CEDENO: Infielder Ronny Cedeno is out of the lineup Sunday after his leg cramped up on him during Saturday's 9-0 win over the Padres. Cedeno left the game in the eighth inning, but Collins had said he was OK. He's hitting .231 and has been filling in for Tejada.

"He's still sore a little bit," Collins said. "He's getting treatment right now, so I will know a little more about it later."

THOLE: Catcher Josh Thole will play tomorrow in an extended spring training game, although Collins is not sure how many innings Thole will play. Thole has been on the 7-day disabled list since May 8 with a concussion.

BATISTA: Collins said he believes Miguel Batista will start on Tuesday, although he's not sure where. Batista is on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his back.

TOUGH STRETCH: After Sunday's game against last-place San Diego, the Mets begin a stretch of eight series against teams that are over .500. They will play the Phillies, Cardinals, Nationals, Reds, Orioles, Ray and Yankees (twice).

While the Mets have certainly been one of baseball's most pleasant surprises to start the season, they will know more about themselves and where they stand among the game's elite when this stretch of 25 games concludes on June 24 against the Yankees.

"When we were in spring training, we talked about our schedule. We know it's tough," Collins said. "We're in a tough division, you look at our division, every team is over .500, we've played our division, we know we've got to battle. We've played pretty well versus our division. We now know that we've got the Yankees and the Rays in that mix. Welcome to the big leagues."