The Associated Press

DENVER - Montreal Expos first baseman Nick Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a broken right cheekbone and is probably out for the rest of the season.

Johnson was injured Friday night when a hard shot by Colorado's Royce Clayton took a strange hop and hit him between his right cheek and jaw. Johnson immediately went down face first onto the infield dirt, kicking his feet up and down as Clayton rounded first for a double.

The 25-year-old Johnson never lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital for X-rays that revealed a fracture.

"My face is pretty sore and I've had to take a lot of pills," he said. "They are telling me four to six weeks and the chances of me coming back this season aren't very good."

Johnson is batting .251 with seven home runs and 33 RBI in 73 games.

"This is just another injury for us," Montreal manager Frank Robinson said. "You get to a point where it's par for the course."

Expos starting pitcher Tony Armas Jr. also left Friday night's game with an injury when a batted ball hit him on the shin.

Montreal recalled outfielder Ryan Church from Triple-A Edmonton to take Johnson's roster spot. Church was hitting .343 with 17 home runs and 78 RBI in 98 games for Edmonton.

GIANTS: Jason Schmidt threw off flat ground Saturday and remained questionable to make his next start because of a strained right groin.

"So far, so good," Schmidt said after throwing for about 10 minutes. He added that the groin still wasn't 100 percent and he was going to ice it.

The bigger test will come today, when he is expected to throw off a mound for the first time since hurting himself while covering first base on a double play against Montreal on Tuesday night.

ORIOLES: Brady Anderson finally got to say farewell to the fans who cheered for him during his career with the Orioles.

Anderson and longtime umpires attendant Ernie Tyler were inducted into the Orioles' Hall of Fame on Saturday at Camden Yards in an emotional ceremony that included Cal Ripken, who spoke on behalf of both entrants.

Anderson played 13 1/2 seasons with the Orioles, from 1988 to 2001. He is the club's career leader in stolen bases (307), and he set the team record for homers in a season when he clubbed 50 in 1996.

ANGELS: Andres Galarraga had five hits for Anaheim's Triple-A affiliate Friday night.

He singled in all five plate appearances and drove in two runs to lead the Salt Lake Stingers to a 17-3 win over the Edmonton Trappers. The Angels signed him to a minor-league contract earlier this month.

Galarraga missed the first four months of the regular season recovering from treatment for his second bout with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He is hitting .350 with 14 RBI in fifteen games for Salt Lake.

He spent the 2003 season with San Francisco, where he hit .301 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 110 games.

ROYALS: Left-hander Jeremy Affeldt was activated from the disabled list Saturday and Jorge Vasquez was optioned to Double-A Wichita.

Affeldt appeared in four games during a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Omaha. He had three saves and did not allow an earned run in four innings.

SHORT HOPS: Cleveland's Aaron Boone underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to remove loose particles in his left knee Friday. Boone will resume rehabilitation Monday in Phoenix and he will begin baseball activities in December.

• Manny Ramirez's homer Saturday was his 379th, tying him with Orlando Cepeda and Tony Perez for 50th place on the career list.

• The Dodgers haven't been in the postseason since 1996, when the Braves swept them in the division series. Since then, Los Angeles has had four different managers, four general managers and five pitching coaches. The Braves have had only one of each - Bobby Cox, John Schuerholz and Leo Mazzone.