BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : Mets Put Gooden on the Disabled List

Dwight Gooden, bothered by inflammation in his right shoulder, was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the New York Mets, retroactive to Aug. 24.

The problem first appeared Aug. 22 in Gooden’s start against St. Louis. The right-hander left after five innings because of tightness behind the shoulder.

Gooden was scratched from his last two scheduled starts, last Tuesday against Houston and against Cincinnati on Sunday.

He underwent an magnetic resonance imaging exam Saturday, but the results were inconclusive. Gooden will undergo additional tests this week.

“If I’m not 100%, I’m not going to go out there,” Gooden said. “In 1989, I continued to pitch even after we recognized I had a problem. By the time we figured out what it was, the damage had been done.”

Left-handed relief pitcher Steve Howe was activated off the 15-day disabled list by the New York Yankees.

Howe, sidelined since Aug. 11 with a tender left elbow, has a 3-0 record, 1.52 earned-run average and three saves in 35 appearances.

Opponents are batting .216 against Howe, and he is holding left-handed batters to a .133 average.