Colorado Rockies

Tsao, who opened the season on the disabled list due to inflammation in the shoulder, has been inactive since May 12 with what was discovered to be a torn labrum.

"This is the best case scenario for him and the organization," Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said. "Have the labrum surgery performed and do some exploratory look at the rotator, go in and put the thing back together, get him on to rehab so when he comes back, he will be 100 percent and we can move forward."

The right-hander, 23, was 1-0 with three saves and 6.55 ERA after appearing in 10 and nine games the past two seasons, respectively. He was the only Rockie with a save until Brian Fuentes picked up his first of the year Thursday against the San Francisco Giants.

Rockies medical director Dr. Thomas J. Noonan will perform the procedure at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Denver on Wednesday. The Rockies officially are saying there is no timetable for Tsao's return except that he will not be back this season.

"That gives us closure as to whether to look in another direction [for the closer's role]," Hurdle said. "That might be Fuentes; now, he might embrace this."

Fuentes, 29 and in his fifth Major League season, has been Colorado's most consistent reliever this season, going 0-3 with a 2.84 ERA over 19 innings. He is tied for the Major League lead with 24 appearances and is holding the National League to a .191 average (including .178 by right-handed hitters). He has pitched on back-to-back occasions 10 times this season, and opponents are hitting .154 against him when doing so.

"This is an opportunity to explore Brian in the ninth-inning closer role," Hurdle said. "We know he's been a pretty good pitcher in the eighth inning. We've got that in our pocket, so let's see if there's more there."

Fuentes now has eight career saves. Before Thursday, he had not posted a save since Sept. 21, 2003, against San Diego.

The Rockies' other options for the closing role are Byung-Hyun Kim, who served as a stopper with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and veteran Jay Witasick, who has only four career saves but is a 10-year veteran. Overall, the Rockies' bullpen posted a 3.62 ERA during the recently completed 10-game homestand.

"Our bullpen has made a lot of progress the past two weeks," Hurdle said. Meanwhile, it is hoped Tsao's shoulder troubles will finally be behind him once and for all after the surgery.

"It relieves him of the pain and hopefully of some of the inconsistencies and difficulties of what he's trying to do and just go in and get it right and get back," Hurdle said.

*Lineup shuffle:* Hurdle was asked if there was any reason for the minor tweaks in his lineup Friday night in Pittsburgh. Dustan Mohr started in right field, left fielder Matt Holiday was bumped from fifth in the order to seventh and third baseman Garrett Atkins, who was 6-for-12 in the series against the Giants this week, was promoted to the No. 5 spot.

Hurdle said the moves were not made because the Pirates were starting a lefty (Mark Redman). It was just a good, old-fashioned attempt at jump-starting a lineup that scored a total of five runs the two previous games.

"We need more oh-fense, you know, oh-fense, as they say in hockey," Hurdle said, using the Canadian dialect of a long 'o' to start the word. "We didn't generate a lot of oh-fense (at home) so maybe we will get some oh-fense when we're in Pittsburgh."

Hurdle is a native of the hockey hotbed state of Michigan.

*Miles ailing, but fine:* Second baseman Aaron Miles was out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game Friday with a minor oblique muscle strain on his right side.

"It's just a couple days situation we're dealing with, not a lengthy situation," Hurdle said. "We're just trying to keep it calmed down until he can be a little more competitive on the field."

Hurdle said that Miles, who played through the injury on Wednesday and went 3-for-5 against the Giants, was available Friday night for pinch-hitting, pinch-running or as a defensive replacement.

*On deck:* Right-hander Jason Jennings (1-5, 6.19) starts for the Rockies on Saturday in Pittsburgh. He will be opposed by lefty Oliver Perez (1-4, 8.03), who has not started since May 6 as the Pirates were giving him a chance to rest his stiff left shoulder and work on his mechanics