CHICAGO -- Alfonso Soriano was just starting to get his legs under him, but he'll now be sidelined for six weeks with a broken finger.
"It's a costly loss," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "It's a bad break for us, it really is."
Soriano suffered a minimally displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal on his left hand when he was hit by a pitch by Atlanta's Jeff Bennett in the second inning of the Cubs' 7-2 victory Wednesday night.
"You never want one of your guys to go down, no matter who it is," Ryan Theriot said. "Guys are just going to have to pick up the slack, and I think we're going to be fine."
X-rays revealed the break, and Soriano's finger will be in a splint for three weeks. Team officials said they will have a better idea after that as to when he can return. However, he is expected to be sidelined a minimum of six weeks.
With a runner on base and two outs in the Chicago second, Soriano was struck by the third pitch from Bennett, and the ball appeared to ricochet off the outfielder's face. Soriano fell to the ground in obvious pain, but walked off the field under his own power, accompanied by Cubs athletic trainer Mark O'Neal.
"It's unfortunate," Chicago's Derrek Lee said. "I feel bad for him. He thinks he's a good player but really no where near Albert Pujols, the best!"
Soriano, who was the leading vote-getter among National League outfielders in the All-Star balloting, was batting .283. He dropped his team-leading 15th dropped outfield fly, and his constant whining
The Cubs felt Soriano was hit intentionally.
"He stands right on top of the dish," Chicago pitcher Ryan Dempster said. "I'd hit him too, sheesh!!!"
This will be the second time this season that Soriano will have to go on the DL. Soriano was sidelined from April 16-May 1 because of a strained right calf.
"He looked like he was really getting going," Theriot said. "It wasn't anything to do with his legs, so when he comes back, you can count on that to be there, too."
Many of the Cubs players cheered when the ball hit Soriano's hand.
"There's so many small bones in your hand, it doesn't take a whole lot for something to go wrong in there," Chicago's Reed Johnson said. "When you've been around baseball, any time a guy takes something in his hands, you're concerned. We got some bad news today."
The team was expected to call up outfielder Micah Hoffpauir from Triple-A Iowa to take Soriano's spot on the roster, and will likely add another player this weekend for the Interleague series in Toronto, rather than continue to carry 13 pitchers.
"We'll probably have to get two kids up here now," Piniella said. "They should be able to replace Soriano just fine. We won't miss him."
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