D-Backs notebook: Cintron sits with painful wrist

Lance Cormier lined a single to right field in his at-bat in Philadelphia last Monday, and he batted in the 10th inning of the tie game Sunday because he was the best option available due to an injury to Alex Cintron.

Cormier grounded out to the shortstop after Craig Counsell’s homer tied the score at 2 on Sunday and was replaced by Brian Bruney on the mound for the 11th.

Cintron suffered a strained left wrist while singling to right field in the seventh inning on Saturday and was unavailable Sunday, leaving Scott Hairston as the only position player on the bench at the time. Hairston was used to hit in the 11th.

Cintron was examined by hand specialist Dr. Don Sheridan on Sunday and found to have inflammation in the cartilage on the left side of his wrist.

He will not be available today, Sheridan said.

"We will give him a day of rest and re-evaluate him,’’ Sheridan said. "It has only been 24 hours since this happened.’’

Cintron said he felt the injury on his single Saturday, then felt it again when he lined out later in the game. He said he woke up to soreness and could not swing a bat when he reported to the park.

"It’s kind of hard to take. There were a couple of situations I could have hit in,’’ said Cintron, who has eight hits in his last 18 at-bats.

PROTEST PULLED

After playing the last two innings of Saturday’s game under protest, manager Bob Melvin said Sunday he will not lodge a protest regarding a disjointed Kansas City double play in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 8-5 loss.

With one out and runners on first and second, Cintron hit a line drive down the thirdbase line that Mark Teahen caught with a dive but then dropped when he hit the ground. Third base umpire Greg Gibson immediately called Cintron out, then reversed himself, leading to uncertainty for the base runners.

Protests usually are upheld only when umpires make a rules mistake, and Melvin acknowledged the call "wasn’t a misinterpretation of the rule."

"It was just one of those deals that kind of falls between the cracks," he said. "He called it a little early but ended up getting it right, but it affected what the runners are doing."

ARM ADDED

Greg Aquino was activated from the disabled list Sunday in the latest move to strengthen the bullpen, although his return was somewhat spotty — four runs on two hits, a walk, a hit batter and a balk.

Aquino missed nine weeks with a nerve irritation in his forearm but hit 96 mph with his fastball on a rehabilitation outing at Triple-A Tucson last week, the final step in his return.

"I feel good,’’ Aquino said.

Aquino had 16 saves over the final two months of the 2004 season, but he was not brought in Sunday until the 12th inning because Melvin had hoped to avoid a tight situation in Aquino’s first appearance since April 4.

"We’d like to get him a socalled soft landing, but we don’t have too many games where there are soft landings,’’ Melvin said.

Edgar Gonzalez was returned to Tucson to make room on the 25-man roster, and Brandon Lyon was transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster.

SHORT HOPS

With six interleague games in AL cities this week, Tony Clark will see more time as a designated hitter. Melvin said Clark is likely to be the DH the first two games of the White Sox series today and Tuesday, with Chad Tracy back at first base. . . . General manager Joe Garagiola Jr., Red Sox executive Mike Port and Mets executive Jim Duquette are the finalists for the vacant front office position with Major League Baseball, a source said, with another round of interviews set in the next several weeks.