Albert Pujols is expected to miss at least three weeks with a strained left calf, a major setback to a St. Louis Cardinals team already thinned by injuries.

The first baseman injured his calf while running out a ground ball during a 7-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night. He flew to St. Louis for tests that indicated a strain rather than a severe tear, as initially feared.

He will start therapy in the next few days. The Cardinals want to be sure the calf is fully healed before he plays again.

The Cardinals also put right-hander Adam Wainwright on the 15-day disabled list yesterday. He sprained the middle finger on his pitching hand during his start Saturday in Houston, and lasted only five innings.

BRAVES

GLAVINE GOES ON DL

Tom Glavine went on the 15-day disabled list for just the second time in his 22-year career — both trips this season — as the injuries mounted yesterday for the Atlanta Braves.

Glavine, who could only go three innings against the Cubs on Tuesday night because of the pain in a strained left elbow, joins starters John Smoltz and Mike Hampton on the disabled list. Earlier this season, Glavine went on the DL with a hamstring injury.

CUBS

SORIANO OUT SIX WEEKS

Alfonso Soriano could miss up to six weeks with a broken left hand after the Chicago Cubs star was hit by a pitch last night against Atlanta.

Soriano was hit in the second inning by Jeff Bennett. The leadoff batter will have a splint on his hand for three weeks, Cubs spokesman Peter Chase said.

Soriano spent time on the disabled list earlier this season with a calf injury.

RED SOX

ORTIZ A U.S. CITIZEN

David Ortiz, the pride of Red Sox Nation, became a U.S. citizen yesterday with 220 other immigrants from 57 countries at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.

"It's a great country. I'm proud to be here," said the 32-year-old from the Dominican Republic, who wore a pinstriped suit and his signature dark sunglasses. He said he was eager "to be part of the American family."