Orioles place Mora on disabled list

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Orioles left fielder Melvin Mora was placed on the disabled list Tuesday to give him time to recover from a nagging hand injury.

"While his hand is getting better, we didn't think he would be ready anytime soon," Baltimore manager Mike Hargrove said.

Mora, fourth in the AL with a .325 average, hasn't made a plate appearance since July 27. But because he pinch-ran July 31 in Minnesota the move is retroactive to Aug. 1.

Baltimore recalled outfielder Jack Cust from Class AAA Ottawa to replace Mora on the roster. It's his third stint with the Orioles, but he has yet to play in a game.

Mora has a strained ligament in his right hand after being hit by a pitch from Greg Maddux on June 20. Mora returned five days later, but he hasn't been able to shake the pain and was mired in his worst slump of the season before his recent stretch of inactivity.

His last start came July 27 in Toronto, when he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The performance capped a 4-for-37 stretch that dropped his average 29 points.

Now he's going to take a break until mid-August.

"This gives me time to rest the hand," Mora said. "There's nothing broke, but it takes time for it to get better. It makes me sad, because I want to be in there."

Mora joins David Segui, B.J. Surhoff and Marty Cordova on the disabled list. The Orioles' thin bench forced Hargrove to use light-hitting Jose Morban as his designated hitter in three straight games.

"We've been playing a man short for a while," Hargrove said.

Cust, obtained in the spring training trade that sent Chris Richard to Colorado, hit .285 with nine homers and 58 RBIs in 79 games with Ottawa.

Hargrove said he probably would start Cust at designated hitter Wednesday against Minnesota.

"I've been coming to the field expecting to play since I was a kid," Cust said. "Not playing is something you have to get used to, and I don't want to get used to it."

Cust took the locker vacated by Sidney Ponson, who was traded Thursday to San Francisco.

 

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