Houston Astros third baseman Mark Loretta was held out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the New York Mets.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth Saturday, Loretta initially broke back to third base on Geoff Blum's single to left field. As a result, he barely beat left fielder's Fernando Tatis' throw to the plate.

As Loretta slid into the plate, a charging Hunter Pence, who was on second base, barreled into him from behind. Both runners scored within an instant of each other as catcher Ramon Castro could not handle the throw.

"He's just sore from getting crashed by Hunter," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "I think the catcher's knee got him in his leg, and then Hunter came into his back a little bit."

Prior to Sunday's game, Loretta had a heating pad on his left hamstring. Ty Wigginton replaced him at third base.