Frank Francisco had soreness in his oblique and accordingly will be shut down Friday instead of pitching in a minor league rehab game for Single-A St. Lucie. Francisco will be reevaluated this weekend.

“He’s so big and strong,” manager Terry Collins said. “The one thing you can’t have is if he’s not ready to go out there, he can do some serious damage to it.”

Francisco has not pitched since June 22, when he earned his 18th save of the season against the Yankees – a day after infamously calling the crosstown rivals “chickens.” He’s 1-3 with a 4.87 ERA. Bobby Parnell has two saves since Francisco went down with the injury.

With Mike Puma