Fractured finger puts Morris on DL

P Cardinal right-hander to miss three to six weeks.

The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO -- The St. Louis Cardinals placed right-hander Matt Morris on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a fractured right index finger.

Morris was hurt when he was hit by a line drive Monday night and is expected to miss three-to-six weeks, the team said.

A CT scan taken Tuesday revealed the fracture. Morris will wear a splint on the finger.

"It's just another speed bump in the road," Morris said. "It's just bad timing. I struggled to get back and throw the ball right and all of a sudden this happens."

Morris, 8-6 with a 4.16 ERA, has been bothered much of the season with an ailing right shoulder.

X-rays taken after Morris left in the first inning of Monday night's game against San Diego did not reveal the fracture. But team physician Dr. George Paletta ordered the CT scan hoping to rule out such a possibility.

"Moving it around, there is a lot of swelling and just doing some normal things hurt," Morris said.

Morris was hit in the finger by a line drive off the bat of San Diego's Mark Kotsay, the Padres' second batter, as he attempted to catch the hard-hit ball. The ball deflected to third baseman Scott Rolen, who threw out Kotsay at first base.

Morris will be replaced on the roster by right-hander Mike Crudale, recalled from Triple-A Memphis.

Injuries have plagued Morris before. He missed almost the entire first half of the 1998 season with shoulder problems, and he sat out the '99 season after undergoing "Tommy John" ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow.

Since 2001, Morris has been a workhorse, starting at least 32 games and logging more than 210 innings in each of the last two seasons.