Phillies' Halladay gets second opinion

NEW YORK - The Phillies have said that nothing should be read into righthander Roy Halladay's receiving a second opinion about his injured shoulder on Wednesday.

Halladay visited New York Mets team doctor David Altchek.

The Phillies placed Halladay on the disabled list retroactive to Monday with a right shoulder and back muscle strain.

Halladay will be shut down for a minimum of three weeks, and the team estimates he will be out for six to eight weeks.

According to a team official, Halladay is expected to speak publicly about the situation once Phillies doctor Michael Ciccotti, Phillies head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan, and Altchek confer.

Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said the team endorsed Halladay's decision to seek a second opinion.

"We encourage it," Proefrock said before Wednesday's game. "It just provides further peace of mind."

Proefrock said second opinions are common. He said to his knowledge that Halladay didn't seek it because of any additional fears.

"Not that I'm aware of," Proefrock said. "Vance Worley saw Dr. [James] Andrews for a second opinion."

Worley is out with right elbow inflammation, and the second opinion supported the original prognosis.

Catcher Carlos Ruiz was out of the starting lineup for the third consecutive game with a right hamstring strain, but he popped a two-out, two-run home run in the seventh inning to tie it, 3-3.

"We decided to let Chooch sit another day today," manager Charlie Manuel said before the game. "He was a little bit sore. He could probably play if we pushed him."

With an off day Thursday, Ruiz said he hopes he will return as a starter Friday against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.

"I don't want to say [100 percent], but close," Ruiz said. "I think today and tomorrow are going to be the difference."

Ruiz said he felt some discomfort for a couple of days last week and then felt it even more while running from first to third on a base hit in Sunday's 8-3 loss to St. Louis.

He stayed in the game but felt sore on Monday. Ruiz was in the original starting lineup Monday against the Mets before being pulled.

About four hours before Wednesday's game, Phillies outfielder-first baseman Laynce Nix did some light jogging in the outfield. Nix, batting .326 with two home runs and 11 RBIs, has been on the disabled list retroactively since May 10 with a left calf strain. He said it still will take time before he can return. "This was the first time bearing my weight and moving around," he said. "It's the first step toward moving around better, but I still have a ways to go." . . . CSNphilly.com reported that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. does not expect Ryan Howard to return to the lineup in June. Howard is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.