Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton will undergo surgery today to repair a partial tear in an abdominal muscle and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks.

"That's great because we thought it would be longer," manager Ron Washington said yesterday. "It looks like we'll have a chance to get him back after the (July) All-Star break. At least it won't be September."

The team had feared that the injury was a hernia similar to the one that shut down second baseman Ian Kinsler for 12 weeks last year.

An MRI exam yesterday confirmed the diagnosis of the partial tear.

Hamilton was injured May 17 when he crashed into the wall while making a leaping catch against the Los Angeles Angels.

Also, the Rangers are sticking with Washington, at least through 2010, after the team exercised its contract option to keep him for next season.

NOTES

Law and order: The man charged with killing Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others in a drunken driving crash pleaded not guilty yesterday in Santa Ana, Calif., to three counts of murder as relatives of the dead and one survivor looked on. Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, also pleaded not guilty through his attorney to three other felony charges and one misdemeanor in the April 9 collision that occurred just hours after Adenhart pitched six scoreless innings in his season debut.

Red Sox: David Ortiz's vision checked out "very well" during an examination yesterday, and Boston's designated hitter was given drops for dry eyes, team spokeswoman Pam Ganley said. Ortiz has two homers and 22 RBIs with a .197 batting average in 51 games.

Crumbling down: Part of Tiger Stadium's upper deck came crashing down yesterday, nearly a decade after the final major league game there and hours after a Detroit judge refused to stop the historic ballpark's demolition. The stadium opened in 1912.