Despite his reduced playing time, Jason Bay consistently has started against left-handed pitching in the second half. He is unavailable Tuesday night, though, despite the Mets facing Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Wandy Rodriguez. Bay is suffering from back stiffness, Terry Collins said.

"I had him in there and just said, 'Look, the one thing I don't need to have you do is go out there and do something that is going to cost you the remaining seven games of the season,'" Collins said. "So we're going to give him a day off.

"The other day he took some extra BP, or hit in the cages. ... And yesterday he showed up and said he was a little stiff and that he was going to get some work during the game and make sure he was available late in the game. And today he just came in and it's stiffer."