WASHINGTON -- Reds left-hander Brent Suter was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a partially torn muscle in the back of his left shoulder, depriving the Cincinnati bullpen of a reliable arm as the team chases a playoff spot.

The timetable for recovery is roughly six weeks, but Suter said he hoped to return sooner than that. He previously recovered earlier than expected from an oblique muscle strain.

"The first hour of hearing the news, I was really beat up about it, really emotional. Everyone was coming out to me and giving me a lot of love, which meant a lot," Suter said. "I'm going to try to get back to the active team as quick as I can."

The 34-year-old Suter has a 3.68 ERA in 51 innings this season and manager David Bell said "there's not a situation where I would feel uncomfortable putting Brent on the mound."

The Reds entered Saturday three games out of the final NL wild-card spot.

"Of course it hurts our team," Bell said.

Suter said he felt tightness in his lat muscle area while warming up before he entered Friday night's loss at Washington. He retired the final batter in the fifth inning, tried to loosen up in the bottom half and returned in the top of the sixth, recording one out before he was pulled.

An MRI on Saturday revealed the partial tear of the Teres major muscle.

"They took me out of the game. Probably a good thing," Suter said. "A couple pitches later, I might have fully torn this thing, which ends the season."