Mets starter Nieve to miss six weeks with tear in leg

Mets starter Fernando Nieve was diagnosed with a tear in his leg and is expected miss at least six weeks, sources say.

Nieve, the starting pitcher in Sunday's game in Atlanta, injured his leg trying to beat out a grounder in the second inning. Nieve, who is 3-3 with a 2.95 ERRA, is the ninth Met on the disabled list. They have six players on the 15-day list and three on the 60-day DL.

Outfielder Cory Sullivan was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take Nieve's spot. The 29-year-old Sullivan is batting .290 with two home runs and 24 RBIs with the Bisons. Sullivan played the last fo.279 lifetime batting average.

Sullivan's stay with the Mets could be a short one. New York needs a starting pitcher to take Nieve's place on Saturday, and Manuel indicated that the starter would be recalled from Buffalo. One option is left-hander Jon Niese, who's gotten hot lately at Triple-A Buffalo.