HOUSTON -- Tendinitis of the elbow apparently is nothing new to Jason Jennings. It's just that in the past, he's pitched through it, whereas now, it's landed him on the disabled list.

A recent MRI exam revealed no ligament damage in the elbow, and Jennings is hopeful that rest, treatment and medication will do the trick and allow for him to resume pitching in a couple of weeks.

But Jennings, who recently received a cortisone injection, admitted the pain started as early as last June, when he was with the Rockies.

"It's just something that kind of comes and goes," he said. "The first start here at home [April 2] was OK. The start against St. Louis [April 8], the last couple innings were not a whole lot of fun. I was starting to feel it. It was tightening up on me. I didn't think anything of it -- I was still getting results."

But the club ran into 30 and 40 degree temperatures during its last road trip, and the pain became worse.

"I wanted to get it checked early in the season and try to get it taken care of now as opposed to later in the season in the stretch run," Jennings said.

The right-hander is likely to miss two to three starts. He's been on the disabled list only one other time in his career, but that two-month stint in the second half of 2005 was due to a fractured finger. This is Jennings' first arm-related injury that has been severe enough to merit a trip to the DL.

"I'm sure it's something other pitchers around the league have and it's probably something other guys on this team have," Jennings said. "It's a matter of trying to control the pain threshold and getting it back to a manageable level."

Albers to pitch Friday: The Astros called up Matt Albers from Triple-A Round Rock and officially put Jennings on the disabled list following Monday's game. Albers, a 24-year-old right-hander, will start the series opener in Milwaukee on Friday.

Albers pitched only three innings in his start for the Express on Monday, totalling 53 pitches. That was a strong signal that he will come back to pitch on three days of rest Friday in Milwaukee.

The Express finished a four-game series in Iowa on Monday and are headed for Omaha, but Albers will fly to Houston in time to accompany the team to Cincinnati on Tuesday night.

Starter? No, thanks: Just when the media was finally leaving Brad Lidge alone for a few days, good old Roger Clemens made a comment that started the whole interrogation process over again.

In a radio interview on Friday, Clemens said if it were up to him, he'd put Lidge in the starting rotation.

That opinion elicited several chuckles, both from manager Phil Garner and Lidge.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Garner said. "The reason they put Brad in a closing role was because he had a lot of arm trouble. There is some logic, if a player is really, really broken, to try to start him. But Lidge is not broken. It's not necessary."

Lidge, who recently lost the closer's job, was a starter throughout his Minor League career. But other than one three-inning spot start for the Astros in 2002, the right-hander hasn't come close to resuming that role. And he doesn't appear to be eager to do so now.

"Right now, I just need to focus on doing the things I need to do to have the best season I can and pitch well for the team out of the bullpen," Lidge said. "I need to go out there and make the best of the situation now and get back to my role, and that's all I can do right now."

Garner says no power struggle: Garner also quickly shot down speculation that he was in a power struggle with GM Tim Purpura regarding Lidge's future with the club.

A report in the Rocky Mountain News suggested Garner and Purpura, who has "never wavered in his support of the reliever and would not seriously consider trade proposals," are at odds as to what to do with Lidge.

"It was not [a power struggle]," Garner said. "I made the decision [to demote Lidge], on my own, with no input from anybody else to do this.

"You guys (reporters) know I don't lie. There is absolutely nothing to that. It's my call. Tim and I discussed it after I said what I needed to do. It was not a power struggle. It was not something that Tim pushed on me. It was a decision that I made, independently of anybody else."

Odds and ends: Mark Loretta started at shorstop Monday in place of Adam Everett. "He needs to get in the lineup," Garner said of Loretta, who had only eight at-bats entering Monday's game. "Adam's fine." Everett gave assurances he is healthy. "There is absolultey nothing wrong with me, other than my family went home," he said somewhat sadly, referring to his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Peyton, who took a short vacation to their home near Atlanta. ... The Astros are home for only 48 hours before heading back on the road. They just got back from a two-city trip, and after the two games with the Marlins, they'll begin a four-city trip to Cininnati (two games), Milwaukee (three), Philadelphia (one) and Pittsburgh (three).

Coming up: The Astros and Marlins will wrap up their short two-game set on Tuesday, beginning at 7:05 p.m. CT. Right-hander Roy Oswalt (2-0, 3.32) will face right-hander Sergio Mitre (0-2, 4.09).