Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Shortstop Rey Ordonez could miss the remainder of the season with a torn ligament in his left knee.

The tear was diagnosed Friday by Dr. John Uribe, Ordonez's personal physician in Miami. Ordonez has been on the disabled list since May 9 with a sprained knee.

No date for surgery has been scheduled, but manager Lou Piniella said Friday that "in all likelihood" Ordonez will miss the rest of the season.

Ordonez was batting .316 with 22 RBIs through the Devil Rays' first 34 games. Those numbers ranked second among all AL shortstops at the time, trailing only Texas' Alex Rodriguez in both categories.

Ordonez went 1-for-3 in Monday's Hall of Fame game in Cooperstown, N.Y., his first game action since going on the disabled list.

The team had planned to activate him soon after that exhibition, but Ordonez experienced swelling in the knee Tuesday.

Still, he had been hopeful of returning this season. Even Piniella said as recently as Thursday that Ordonez's progress in rehabilitation was "somewhat encouraging."

A .245 career hitter, Ordonez was having his best season offensively before getting hurt. He spent his first seven years in the big leagues with the New York Mets, who traded him to the Devil Rays in December.

Baltimore Orioles: Melvin Mora, the leading hitter in the American League, left Friday night's game against Atlanta after being hit on the right hand by a pitch from Greg Maddux.

X-rays were negative. Manager Mike Hargrove said Mora was day-to-day.

"I don't think it's anything," Hargrove said. "It wasn't swollen up when he came out of the game."

Mora was hit in the first inning. After being treated, he went to first base and stayed in the game defensively for the bottom half of the inning.

But the outfielder was replaced by Luis Matos when the Orioles went out for the bottom of the second.

Mora was leading the AL with a .361 average.

"It was his call," Hargrove said. "He said he couldn't swing the bat."

Chicago Cubs: Jose Hernandez returned to the Cubs on Friday following his trade from Colorado. He'll be reuniting with his friend Sammy Sosa while hoping to provide some punch to the lineup.

"We're in first place. I just want to be in the lineup and have fun," Hernandez said before Friday's game with the White Sox. He arrived Friday morning and was not in the starting lineup.

Hernandez was with the Cubs from 1994 until he was traded to Atlanta late in the 1999 season. His play at shortstop in 1998, when he hit 23 homers and drove in 75 runs, helped Chicago win the NL wild card that season.

He spent three seasons with Milwaukee, making the All-Star team last year, and had appeared in 69 games with the Rockies before he was traded Thursday for Mark Bellhorn and Double-A pitcher Travis Anderson.

Hernandez can play all the infield positions but will probably get most of his playing time at third, where the Cubs have been shuffling this season. They've used Bellhorn, Ramon Martinez and Lenny Harris at the position.

"He's a quality guy and a great defensive player at all three infield spots and he was in the All-Star game a year ago," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said.

"He's been struggling with the bat lately, but he's always been a streaky guy. ... Now he's in a a comfort zone where he's been before. Hopefully he'll get hot and help us out again."

New York Yankees: Nick Johnson had the cast removed from his injured right hand Friday and is expected to return to the team in three-to-four weeks.

"Today was good news. This was the biggest hurdle in the whole thing," general manager Brian Cashman said. Johnson had a stress fracture in his right hand. He hurt himself swinging on May 14 and was placed on the disabled list two days later.

An MRI exam Friday showed the injury had healed and he can begin the next stage of his recovery.

"That's great news," manager Joe Torre said. "Now we can start the clock." Johnson's hand is still stiff. He will begin whirlpool treatment and work with putty to build up strength before he can pick up a bat. Torre estimated the first baseman would need five or six rehabilitation games in the minors before returning. The Yankees' offense has struggled without Johnson and center fielder Bernie Williams, sidelined since May 22 with torn cartilage in his left knee. Williams took 20 swings off a tee from each side of the plate Friday and could be ready to return before the All-Star break.

Texas Rangers: Shortstop Alex Rodriguez returned to the starting lineup Friday night, a day after being hit in the face by a throw.

"I feel better, just a little sore," Rodriguez said before the Rangers opened a three-game series against Houston. "I thought I'd wake up with a couple of black eyes."

Rodriguez didn't have a black eye, just a little bit of swelling near his nose where the ball hit. He had no broken bones and no stitches.

He was hurt Thursday at Oakland when Mark Ellis stole second. Ellis arrived ahead of the throw and Rodriguez dropped his glove as if to make the tag, but the ball hadn't arrived yet. The ball hit A-Rod just below his right nostril, causing a bloody nose and making him groggy, and he left the game.

The game Friday night was Rodriguez's 459th straight, including all 395 games since signing his $252 million, 10-year contract before the 2001 season.

Milwaukee Brewers: Left-hander Glendon Rusch was sent to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday after losing 10 straight games -- one shy of the Brewers' club record.

Rusch was 1-11 with an 8.61 ERA as Milwaukee's No. 2 starter. He'll start Sunday at Pawtucket.

Rusch has gone 13 starts since his lone victory, April 8 in Pittsburgh. He allowed 124 hits in 76 1/3 innings and opponents are hitting .369 against him. He is 0-6 with a 12.03 ERA at home.

Milwaukee acquired Rusch from the New York Mets before the 2002 season. He made a career-high 34 starts last season, going 10-16 with a 4.70 ERA. With the Mets in 2001, Rusch was 8-12 with a 4.63 ERA in 33 starts.

Milwaukee also recalled reliever John Foster, who was 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA in eight appearances for Indianapolis.