In some ways, it hurt Jason Bay plenty to learn yesterday afternoon that a strained right hamstring would force him out of the Pirates' lineup and end a streak of 307 games played.

For one, his had been the fourth-longest active run in Major League Baseball, and he clearly found it important given the many times he played through injuries to preserve it.

For another, as Bay put it, the Pirates were coming off their best weekend of the season.

	The streak ends Before action yesterday, Jason Bay's streak was the fourth-longest active in Major League Baseball: Player, Team Games Miguel Tejada, Orioles 1,036 Mark Teixeira, Rangers 403 Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners 356 Jason Bay, Pirates 307

"It's a little tough, considering what's happened," he said.

In other ways, though, the end came as a relief.

The most important in the immediate sense was that the injury is not thought serious. He likely will miss all of the three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers that began last night but, after the Pirates' day off Thursday, should return Friday in Cincinnati.

And most important in the long-term sense could be that Bay no longer has to burden himself with the idea of playing every day for any reason other than playing every day.

"I didn't start out to break Cal Ripken's streak," he said. "It's just that, if I was healthy enough to play, I was going to play. I knew there was going to come one day when I wouldn't, sooner rather than later. Hopefully, from here on out, if it's a little hot out or something, I can get an extra day here or there, and it won't be any big deal."

Bay said he had no issue with the hamstring until the Pirates' pregame stretch Sunday morning.

"I kind of stretched it a little too far and felt a grab," he said.

He told the Pirates' staff about it, played that afternoon, hit his 25th home run in his first at-bat and finished the game. Afterward, he expressed confidence to the staff that he would be fine.

Wrong. Bay awoke yesterday morning and felt the hamstring become "real tight." At that point, he said, the conversation between him and his wife, Kristen, turned immediately to the streak.

"I kind of had to talk myself into it," he said. "My wife was, like, 'Take a day off.' So, we agreed we would see how it is."

Bay reported to PNC Park early in the afternoon and tried some range-of-motion exercises before Brad Henderson, the Pirates' head athletic trainer, decided that playing in the field would present a risk of further damage to the hamstring. That is because Bay's discomfort comes from leaning forward.

Henderson spoke to manager Jim Tracy and recommended that Bay not play, a decision supported by Bay.

"I'm not going to go out there and push it for a day or two, then miss a couple of weeks," Bay said.

Tracy agreed with Henderson and, for the first time since taking his current post, wrote Bay's name onto the portion of his lineup card reserved for bench players.

"It does look kind of odd to see Jason's name in that corner," Tracy said.

Not as odd as Bay must have felt sitting on the bench when the cannon sounded for the Pirates to take the field last night.

"I've been thinking about that all day," he said beforehand. "It definitely will be different all the way around. But, after getting over the initial disappointment, a day off is something I can look forward to. I'm looking at it that way."

Tracy did not rule out that Bay could pinch-hit "only in a significant emergency," but that did not happen last night.

The Pirates used Xavier Nady in Bay's cleanup spot and likely will do so for the rest of this series with Milwaukee using left-handed pitchers the next two nights. Jose Bautista took his place in left field.

Bay played the final 27 games of 2004, all 162 last season and the first 118 this season.

His streak was the longest by a Pirates player since center fielder Omar Moreno's 503 in 1979-82. The franchise record of 822 was set by first baseman Gus Suhr in 1931-37.

The longest current active streak in the majors belongs to Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada, at 1,036, well off Ripken's legendary 2,632.