Affeldt takes next step, faces live hitters

SAN DIEGO -- Giants left-hander Jeremy Affeldt threw 30 "competitive pitches" Tuesday afternoon in San Diego, an important step in his recovery from the strained left groin that has sidelined him since July 20.

Affeldt faced live batters for 30 pitches and threw 50 pitches total. He felt no ill effects of the groin injury.

The 12-year veteran will throw another session Friday, and he said the next step would be to work on fielding drills.

"There's probably not going to be a ton of appearances," Affeldt said of his potential return. "But just to be able to come back and end the season healthy is going to be a big thing for me going into the offseason."

In 38 relief appearances this year, Affeldt has posted a 3.51 ERA.

In other injury news, righty reliever Sandy Rosario is battling lower-back soreness. Manager Bruce Bochy said Rosario told him he's feeling much better than he did Monday. But Bochy -- given an influx of arms with the addition of September callups -- said he'll likely shy away from using Rosario.