Howard limited for another week; Pence gets MRI

UPDATE: Hunter Pence is in the Phillies' starting lineup for Tuesday night, so apparently the MRI was negative. Matt Gelb has more.

PHOENIX — The Phillies remain in a holding pattern with two of their injured offensive stars.

After seeing a wound specialist Monday in Philadelphia, Ryan Howard will be limited for another week because his wound from a surgical procedure has yet to completely heal. The Phillies are hopeful he can resume baseball activities then.

The news is also foggy on Hunter Pence's sore left shoulder. After deeming him day-to-day before seeing a doctor, Ruben Amaro Jr. said Tuesday that Pence will undergo an MRI to ascertain the severity of the injury. The team hopes to have results later Tuesday.

Amaro called the MRI "precautionary" in an emailed statement by the team.

Pence injured the left, non-throwing shoulder when diving for a ball Sunday in San Diego. He didn't feel intense pain until Monday morning.

"I didn't have the mobility that you need," Pence said Monday. "I want to try to do more, but they don't want me to. Hopefully, it's not a big deal."

Howard has been limited since Feb. 27, when he required a procedure to clean an infection from his original Achilles surgery wound. He has not swung a bat or run since the end of February. Another week of inactivity would mean he'd go more than two months without doing either task. Originally, the team refuted the idea of the infection being a "setback."

What has provided optimism for player and team is that the integrity of the repaired tendon has remained intact. That could allow Howard to move aggressively once he is cleared to expand his work.

Contact Matt Gelb at mgelb@phillynews.com or follow on Twitter @magelb.