Cubs LF Soriano fractures finger

Jun 12, 2008 - 4:46 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Chicago Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano suffered a fractured finger on his left hand in Wednesday's game against the Atlanta Braves.

Soriano left the game after being hit by a pitch in the second inning and was taken to Northwestern Hospital for X-rays, which revealed the fracture on his ring finger.

"Costly loss, losing Soriano, no question," Chicago manager Lou Piniella said. "He was just starting to run the way we thought he would. He was playing well in the outfield. And he was hitting the ball for some power. It's a bad break for us. Just an unfortunate thing. They said (Soriano would be disabled) six weeks."

Soriano will have the finger placed in a splint for the next three weeks and is expected to miss four to six weeks overall.

"It (stinks). It (stinks) because we're on the losing end of it," Cubs righthander Ryan Dempster said. "We lose one of our players. But we can't let it get us down. We have to keep plugging away."

Chicago likely will recall an outfielder from Class AAA Iowa to take Soriano's spot on the roster.

"We'll probably have to get two kids up here now," Piniella said. "We'll see who we bring up. It's a shame. Things happen in baseball. We've got a farm system and we'll utilize it."

Braves starter Jeff Bennett's 0-2 pitch ran in on Soriano, hitting his hand before glancing off the side of his head.

"We had two strikes on him by going away and away," Atlanta catcher Brian McCann said. "Now we were trying to get a fastball in and it got away from him. I feel really bad for Soriano. There's no chance that we were throwing at him with the count 0-and-2. The book on him is if you don't pitch him inside, he'll reach over the plate and kill you. I hope he comes back soon and has a great season."

Mike Fontenot was inserted as a pinch runner for Soriano and took over at second base, while Mark DeRosa moved to Soriano's spot in left. Ryan Theriot could see time in the leadoff spot with Soriano out.

"It's unfortunate. There's nothing we can do about it now," Theriot said. "Guys are just going to have to pick up his slack. I think we'll be fine. Don't count on me to start hitting leadoff homers."