Lee's hand keeps him out

Left fielder Carlos Lee was not in the starting lineup Thursday because of a sore right hand that's been bothering him for the past few weeks. Jason Micheals started in left field, but Lee was available to pinch hit and is expected to return to the lineup Friday.

"It's just for a precaution," interim manager Dave Clark said. "He feels it more so when he swings and misses. Earlier today, when I talked to him about it, he said if I needed him to play he could play. I hope to give him the whole day off if we don't have to use him."

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Clark said he expects center fielder Michael Bourn to continue to make huge strides in his offensive game into next season. Entering Thursday, Bourn led the National League in steals (61), bunt hits (16) and infield hits (42), was third in triples (11) and fourth in batting with runners in scoring position (.360).

Clark credits a conversation Bourn had with teammate Lance Berkman during spring training for helping to springboard Bourn's career.

"He told him basically to stay back," Clark said. "He would lunge a lot and every now and then he still does that, especially on breaking balls. Now he is staying back and seeing the ball a lot longer as a result of that and seeing the whole field as well."

Clark would like to see Bourn cut down on his strikeouts. He had 135 whiffs entering Thursday, which was easily the team lead.

"If you put half of those balls on the ground that he's striking out on, he's hitting .320 or .330." Clark said. "It's going to take time. Once you get into that third and fourth year of a career, that's when you start seeing things more. We're just seeing his potential."