Once again, Freddy Sanchez's shoulder is flaring up on him.

The Pirates' second baseman, slowed all spring and for much of April by lingering pain in his surgically repaired right shoulder, acknowledged yesterday that the pain is back. And, sometimes, it is back with a vengeance.

"I'm playing through it, but there are times when it's killing me," Sanchez said. "It's hurting every time I throw right now. I don't understand why it keeps coming back. I'm just trying to get over the hump."

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Minor-league report

Saturday's games

INDIANAPOLIS (19-18) beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 5-1. RHP Ty Taubenheim (3-5, 5.67) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings. RHP Jesse Chavez (1.61) pitched a perfect ninth. 3B Neil Walker (.203) went 1 for 4 with an RBI. RF Steve Pearce (.241) went 0 for 3 with a walk. CF Andrew McCutchen (.283) and LF Nyjer Morgan (.000) each went 0 for 4.

ALTOONA (14-21) won at Reading, 5-2. RHP Yoslan Herrera (2-3, 3.00) allowed one run and seven hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked one. 1B Jason Delaney (.330) hit his fourth home run and went 2 for 2 with two walks.

LYNCHBURG (15-20) lost to Frederick, 11-5. LHP Tony Watson (3-4, 3.69) allowed four runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings. 2B Jim Negrych (.402) went 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. Frederick C Matt Wieters (.355), the player the Pirates bypassed in the draft last summer, hit his eighth home run and went 1 for 3 with a walk.

HICKORY (16-21) lost to Savannah, 9-0. RHP Brad Clapp (0-3, 5.27) allowed seven runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. 3B Robert Spain (.305) went 2 for 3 with a walk.

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The pain resurfaced with a relay throw in the third inning of the game May 2 in Washington, one that sailed well over catcher Ryan Doumit for an error. It has not kept him out of the lineup and, in fact, this latest edition has coincided with his most productive hitting of the season.

Still, his throws have been visibly weaker this week, looking much like those early in the spring.

"You can tell it's affecting him," Pirates manager John Russell said. "But his feeling is that he can handle it like he has before. He had a little extra on that throw in Washington."

As if that were not enough, Sanchez also was clipped in the forearm by a spike Friday night, though he dismissed that as a "scrape."

LaRoche feeling it, too

First baseman Adam LaRoche continues to ice the area between his right thumb and wrist, but he is adamant it is having no impact on his swing.

"None at all," he said.

LaRoche's thumb was strained in the season's opening week, but he never stopped playing.

Duffy up to 120 feet

Outfielder Chris Duffy, rehabilitating his left shoulder in Bradenton, Fla., is back up to an encouraging 120 feet in his throwing program, which was set back early last month. He also is taking at-bats in extended spring games, but there remains no timetable for a return to full action.

If he had been healthy when Nyjer Morgan was sent out ...

"That's the frustrating part," general manager Neal Huntington said. "If Chris were healthy, he'd probably be on our big league roster right now. But this is taking longer than anyone expected."

Buried treasure

• At long last, Nate McLouth did not start a game: Jason Michaels took his place in center. "Seemed like a good day," Russell said. McLouth had been the Pirates' last player to start every game.

• Juan Mateo, the starter the Pirates signed to a minor league contract earlier in the week, is working out with Class AA Altoona and could be activated in the next few days.

• Atlanta's Mike Gonzalez, the reliever former general manager Dave Littlefield sent to the Braves in the LaRoche trade, is close to a full recovery from the major elbow surgery he had last spring: He is pitching in extended spring, throwing up to 90 mph, and could rejoin Atlanta's bullpen by the end of the month.