Bailey's start pushed back due to sore elbow, neck

CINCINNATI -- The Reds adjusted their starting rotation this week because right-hander Homer Bailey has been bothered by elbow stiffness.

The injury was not deemed serious, but the extra precautions are still being taken.

"I've pitched with it. It's not just my elbow, but my neck, a bulging disc I've pitched with the whole year," Bailey said. "So now's a good time to [get] the extra day. Guys just need to pick me up for a couple days."

Bailey, who was supposed to pitch on Wednesday, is now slated to take the mound again on Saturday at Colorado. Mike Leake will face the Red Sox on Wednesday while Alfredo Simon will go Thursday vs. the Rockies, followed by Johnny Cueto on Friday.

"As much as we would have liked to have given everybody the extra day off, it didn't make any sense at all to ask Homer to go out there and try to throw through some unusual stiffness in his elbow," manager Bryan Price said. "We're pretty optimistic that by Saturday he's going to be good to go."

Bailey did not undergo a MRI exam as some type of stiffness or soreness is often commonplace for pitchers later in the season.

"The difference is this was significant enough to make every effort to give him a couple of extra days -- in this case, it's [four] extra days," Price said. "That's a nice thing to do to make sure we don't have any setbacks. We're obviously trying to avoid anything that would make the situation worse."

In his previous start on Thursday vs. the Indians, Bailey pitched seven innings with four hits, one walk and eight strikeouts for a 4-0 Reds victory.

"Instead of going out there and trying to be a hero now, let's just give it a few days and finish up the season," Bailey said.