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GAME LOG
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- New York shortstop Rey Ordonez broke a bone
in his left forearm in the Mets' 4-1 loss to the Dodgers on Monday, and the Mets said he will be sidelined for six weeks.
Ordonez was injured when he tagged out the Dodgers' F.P.
Santangelo, who was picked off first base by pitcher Al Leiter and took off
for second. Ordonez, a three-time Gold Glove winner, came across
the bag to get the wide throw from first baseman Todd Zeile and
whirled around before slapping a tag on Santangelo.
|  | | Rey Ordonez breaks a bone in his left forearm while tagging out F.P. Santangelo on a steal attempt. Ordonez is out six weeks. |
Santangelo's helmet hit Ordonez on the arm as he slid in head-first. Ordonez, a three-time Gold Glove, was down briefly, got up and made several
short tosses to see if there was pain, then walked off the field, slamming his glove on the dugout steps. Kurt Abbott replaced him at shortstop.
"It's a shame that the best shortstop in the league is going to
be out," Abbott said. "Even though he's struggled offensively, defensively he's the best in the
league. He still solidifies the defense out there and he's a big part of the team."
Shawn Green hit his second grand slam in
eight games, and Chan Ho Park allowed two hits in seven innings for Los Angeles.
Park struck out six, but he also walked six. He threw 115
pitches and was removed for a pinch-hitter in the seventh.
New York manager Bobby Valentine wasn't pleased at the thought
of being without Ordonez for 1½ months.
"He's been an integral part of the team, but we'll have to make
adjustments," Valentine said. "Maybe they won't hit any balls to
shortstop in the next six weeks."
Mets general manager Steve Phillips said that right fielder Melvin Mora probably would be
activated Tuesday to fill Ordonez's roster spot. Mora, who has
played seven rehab games in the minors, was eligible to come off
the disabled list Sunday.
Valentine said Ordonez, whose only stint
on the DL was in 1997 with a broken bone in his left hand, didn't
want to come out of the game.
"I thought he had broken it when I went out there. He could
squeeze the ball and make a fist, but he tried to catch a ball and
he just couldn't lift up the glove," Valentine said.
Mora has been on the DL since
May 13 with a cut on his right index finger. Ordonez is batting just .188.
"We'll make do," Valentine said. "We have Kurt Abbott, Melvin
Mora and Joe McEwing play there. I'd like to have Rey back, but
we'll do the best we can without him. Maybe they won't hit any balls
to shortstop in the next six weeks."
The Mets lost for the first time in Leiter's 10 starts this season.
"One pitch and it's 4-0," Leiter (5-1) said. "The way Chan
Ho was pitching, I knew it was out of reach. So it's frustrating
and I'm certainly not happy about it."
Said Green: "It obviously was a pitchers' duel and whoever got
the lead first was in good shape. It was a playoff-type atmosphere.
I came up against Leiter not wanting to get behind in the count. I
was fortunate I hit the first pitch."
The only hits off Park (5-4) were a leadoff single by Abbott in the fifth inning and pinch-hitter John Nunnally's two-out
single in the seventh.
"Chan Ho had awesome stuff, but he wasted some pitches on
walks," Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said.
Jose Vizcaino led off the sixth with a single and Park
sacrificed him to second. Leiter then hit Santangelo in the
hip, and Mark Grudzielanek in the left elbow, loading the bases for
Green.
"Even though it looked like the wheels had fallen off, I still
felt like I could make a good pitch on Shawn with the slider and
get out of it. But one swing of the bat really ruined the day,"
said Leiter, who gave up four runs and six hits in six innings.
The grand slam was the fourth of Green's career and the team's
seventh of the year, the most for the Dodgers since 1952, when the
team was in Brooklyn and hit eight. Green, who has 10 homers, hit
his first slam of the year May 21 against Florida's Antonio
Alfonseca.
Grudzielanek was taken out of the game in the eighth because his
elbow was bruised.
The Mets' only run came in the ninth, when McEwing hit an
RBI double off Jeff Shaw.
Game notes
Sandy Koufax, the Dodgers' Hall of Fame left-hander,
visited the Mets clubhouse before the game. ... INF Adam
Melhuse was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque by the Dodgers after
3B Adrian Beltre went on the 15-day DL. Beltre, batting
.269 with five homers and 31 RBI in 44 games, strained his right
hamstring Saturday running out a grounder against Philadelphia.
Pitcher Jeff Williams was transferred from the 15-day DL to the
60-day DL to make room for Melhuse on the 40-man roster.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Shawn Green's grand slam gave the Dodgers the victory.
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