St. Louis Cardinals: Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen, bothered by a sore neck after a headfirst slide earlier this month, will get at least three more days off to rest the injury.

Rolen missed his third straight start and fifth game this week Saturday night against the Kansas City Royals. He met with team physician Dr. George Paletta on Friday night, and the Cardinals decided to delay Rolen's return.

Rolen was injured June 12 in Boston, and has played sporadically since due to a stiff neck and soreness in his back and shoulders that hinders his mobility. He'll also miss Sunday's series finale against the Royals, and the Cardinals have a day off Monday before beginning a three-game series against Cincinnati.

"I don't want to go out there and play one game and get set back two,'' Rolen said. "Since we've got a freebie with the day off on Monday, we might as well take advantage of it.

"I don't know how I feel about it, but it's probably the right thing.''

New York Yankees: Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams took 35 swings off a tee from both sides of the plate Saturday as part of his rehabilitation following knee surgery.

Williams started hitting off the tee Friday, and could add soft toss and an onfield running program within the next few days.

"That's what I'm lobbying for,'' Williams said.

The five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner underwent surgery May 27 to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. He could rejoin the Yankees by the All-Star break.

During his 30 minutes in the batting cage, Williams worked on situational hitting with several minor league players, including first-round pick Eric Duncan.

Duncan has gone 3-for-7 in his first two pro games with the Yankees' Gulf Coast League team.

Houston Astros: Houston second baseman Jeff Kent was scratched from the starting lineup just before the start of Saturday night's game at Texas because of his sore left wrist.

It was the third straight game Kent missed.

The Astros shuffled their lineup just minutes before the game started, with Jose Vizcaino taking over at second base. Left fielder Lance Berkman moved from fifth to fourth in the batting order.

Kent was first scratched from the lineup Thursday against Arizona. He didn't play Friday night at Texas.

Kent, the 2000 NL MVP, is the Astros' RBI leader (50) in his first year with the team. Kent started 68 of Houston's first 71 games, and is hitting .313 with 11 home runs.

Montreal Expos: The Expos placed third baseman Fernando Tatis on the 15-day disabled list Saturday because of swelling in his chest wall.

Tatis, who had only started one of Montreal's previous six games, was hitting just .194 with two homers and 15 RBI in 53 games this season. The move was retroactive to June 16.

Since hitting a career-high 34 homers with St. Louis in 1999, Tatis has just 35 home runs in four injury-plagued seasons.

The Expos, who returned from a 22-day, 25-game trip Thursday, have already lost star right fielder Vladimir Guerrero and starters Orlando Hernandez, Tony Armas Jr., and Zach Day to injuries.

Montreal purchased first baseman Joe Vitiello's contract from Triple-A Edmonton.

San Franciso Giants: The Giants placed first baseman J.T. Snow on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained left groin, the second setback in two days for the defending NL champions.

The move is retroactive to Wednesday, making Snow is eligible to be activated July 3. To fill Snow's roster spot, the Giants recalled outfielder Carlos Valderrama from Triple-A Fresno to fill a hole in the outfield since reserve Marvin Benard is injured. Valderrama started in center field Saturday to give Marquis Grissom a day off.

"The thing is, he's staying the same -- no worse, no better,'' manager Felipe Alou said of Snow before Saturday's game against the Oakland Athletics. "They figure that could lead to a lengthy DL if he plays like that.''

Snow was injured in the first inning Tuesday night against the Dodgers, but went through a hard workout before Friday's game against Oakland, taking groundballs and batting practice. Trainer Stan Conte had hoped the first baseman would return to the field this weekend.

"What we saw yesterday was a good improvement, but I thought it was going to be three or four days until he could play,'' Conte said. "Putting him on the DL will make sure he's ready in 15 days.''

Arizona Diamondbacks: Diamondbacks outfielder Danny Bautista was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday because of a left hamstring sprain.

The team filled his roster spot by purchasing the contract of right-hander Brady Raggio from Triple-A Tucson.

Bautista originally hurt himself June 14 while running out a groundout in Minnesota. He met with team doctor Roger McCoy on Friday.

"He decided the best thing was just to shut him down for a while,'' manager Bob Brenly said.

It was the Diamondbacks' 16th use of the DL this season. Second baseman Junior Spivey (ankle sprain) and third baseman Shea Hillenbrand (oblique strain) were sidelined earlier this week.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Pirates first baseman Randall Simon learned late Saturday he had torn ligaments in his right hand while hitting his game-winning homer in the 15th inning Friday against Cleveland.

The injury forced Simon onto the 15-day disabled list. The Pirates recalled Carlos Rivera from Triple-A Nashville to replace him.

Because of Simon's injury, the Pirates were a player short for their 7-6 victory over the Indians on Saturday night, also in 15 innings.

Simon was hurt while running the bases in the 11th inning Friday. He was in so much pain he was told to bunt the next time up, and manager Lloyd McClendon also suggested he try to bunt in the 15th.

Simon decided to swing away and hit Danys Baez's 1-0 pitch over the center field fence, giving the Pirates a 5-4 victory.