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Shane Victorino tweaks hamstring; return uncertain

Before Saturday's game, Shane Victorinowas feeling tight, his hips sore and back aching.

After running around in pregamewarm-ups, his condition improved, and he told manager Charlie HughesPinstripe white Jersey Manuel he was ready for action.

Now it might be a while before Victorinosees the field again.

The Phillies center fielder, who had a15-game hitting streak snapped Saturday, tweaked his hamstring running to firstin the seventh inning and left the game a half inning later.

"I'm assuming that it's all related -- my back andmy hammy," Victorino said.

Manuel said Victorino won't be in the lineup for today'sgame, but beyond that the recovery time could vary.

Victorino said this is the first significant hamstringpain he's suffered, so his frame of reference is minimal, but he said he hopedhe wouldn't be out for an extended period of time.

The team will know more after trainers evaluate Victorinotoday.

In the meantime, John Mayberry Jr. will likely get thework in center field.

After a hot start to his stint withClass AAA Lehigh Valley, it looked like Domonic Brown might be Nick Swisher black Jersey back with the Phillies in short order. That quest hit aminor roadblock last week, however, as Brown suffered a sprained thumb in agame Wednesday and could miss another five days.

Brown was hitting .353 with two homers, and he had a hitin each of his first nine games with Lehigh Valley, numbers that stood in starkcontrast to the production the Phillies have gotten from their current rightfielder.

Ben Francisco was 0-for-4 Saturday,including a strikeout on three pitches to end the game. In May, Francisco ishitting just .094, with no RBIs or extra-base hits.

With Victorino potentially shelved andBrown out for the next few days, however, there aren't many other options forManuel.

With the early start time Saturday,Carlos Ruiz wasn't in the starting lineup. He came on to pinch hit in theeighth, getting hit by a pitch.

That means when he takes the fieldtoday, it will have been exactly a month since his last base hit.

Ruiz is hitless in his last 26 at-bats,dating to April 15. He missed 13 games in between while dealing with a soreback.

The injury played a role in hisstruggles, Manuel said, but the bigger issue might be how pitchers areapproaching Ruiz.

But for all his struggles, Ruiz said hefeels good swinging the bat now, and Manuel expects the slump will end soon.