Brandon Backe threw off a mound Wednesday for the first time since he went on the disabled list last week with a strained muscle on his left side.
''I threw 40 pitches, and 35 went really good,’' he said. ''On the last five, I started to get tired, and I started to feel it again, so we shut it down.’' He’ll take today off and then throw off a mound again Friday in San Francisco.