WASHINGTON -- Brendan Ryan has joined Rick Ankiel as Cardinals players who are banged up but available. Ryan is dealing with some soreness in the area of his neck and upper back, and was held out of Tuesday's lineup -- giving Aaron Miles a second straight start at second base.

Ryan first felt something give on Monday afternoon during pregame warm-ups.

"I was ready to pinch-hit last night," Ryan said on Tuesday. "It's just one of those things. Something's caught. Right under my neck, between the shoulder blades."

Manager Tony La Russa considers Ryan playable, but not for a full game. That means that despite a second straight left-hander on the mound for the opposition, Ryan did not get a start.

"I've got him on the list to play if I have to use him," La Russa said. "He made an awkward move when he was making a throw. And by the end of the day, sometime during the game, he had taken some toss and he was available to swing. I could have pinch-hit him."

Ankiel, meanwhile, is in a similar boat. For the second day in a row, Ankiel was not in the lineup. He suffered a nasty scrape on his left hand when he made a diving catch on the warning track on Sunday.

"He's playable," La Russa said. "I could play him later [in the game], and maybe tomorrow."