Astros right-hander Brandon Backe will travel home to Houston to have his injured right elbow examined by team doctors instead of going with the team to Arizona. Backe left the Astros' 5-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants after only two innings Thursday because of a sprained right elbow. The severity of the injury wasn't immediately known, but the Astros didn't want to take any chances with a pitcher who won 10 games last year in his first full season as a starter. "I've never been hurt there before," Backe said. "I asked some guys who had Tommy John surgery if that's how it starts and they said it was similar. But only the doctor can tell me for sure. Bottom line is I didn't complete my job. Obviously something is wrong and we'll get it checked. Best case scenario is it's just a tweak, worst case is something serious."