Polanco playing with broken elbow

Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco is playing with a small break in his left elbow, but is postponing surgery until after the season because Philadelphia is in a pennant race.

Polanco is batting .308 with six homers and 47 RBIs for the surging Phillies, who lead the NL East by a game over the Atlanta Braves.

''I have a broken elbow, but it is rather small and will be operated on at the end of the year,'' Polanco told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. ''It is something minor, less than half an hour (the surgery), and rehabilitation will take only a month. I have not been operated on before because I would have lost the season if I did it.''

The 34-year-old Polanco spent time on the disabled list earlier this season with elbow inflammation.

''Sometimes I don't have the same power to swing and as I have been compensating for the elbow I have caused a bit of tendinitis in my forearm,'' he said.