Rookie out with puncture wound to hand

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DENVER -- Rookie outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was out of the Colorado Rockies' lineup Sunday after suffering a puncture wound to his left hand.

Gonzalez said he hurt himself when he caught a steak knife as it fell off a plate while he was putting a dish in his kitchen sink at home following Saturday's win over the San Francisco Giants. He needed one stitch to close the wound and is day to day.

"Just one stitch in the middle," Gonzalez said, pointing to his left palm just below his thumb.

Gonzalez, whose hand was wrapped, said he hopes to return to the lineup during the Rockies' three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which begins Tuesday.

"I haven't tried yet, but I'm still able to run," he said. "Everything else is good. Hopefully in three days I'll be able to play. It depends on how my hand heals."

Manager Jim Tracy said Gonzalez could be used as a pinch runner or defensive replacement as early as Monday's game against San Francisco.

"He has availability. By tomorrow there's the possibility he can play defense and run," Tracy said. "In a couple of days we'll see how he's doing, but there is the possibility that by Tuesday, Wednesday he'll be ready to play."

Gonzalez is hitting .287 with eight homers and 19 RBIs in 56 games this season. He was 1 for 3 and scored two runs in Colorado's 14-11 win Saturday night.

Seth Smith started in left on Sunday and hit a two-run homer in Colorado's 4-2 win.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

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