Sammy Sosa gingerly stepped down the stairs to the home clubhouse Wednesday, his bad back causing him considerable pain.
"I feel like I'm 95 years old right now," he said.
PHOTO: AP
The Chicago Cubs' star was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a sprained ligament in his lower back, an ailment that was brought on by two violent sneezes Sunday in San Diego.
"You know the first day it happened, I knew it was something really serious. I couldn't even stand up," Sosa said Wednesday.
"I went through a lot of pain. Right now I feel better. Yesterday I went to the doctor. It will take some time."
Sosa's setback is the latest in a string of injuries for Chicago.
Pitchers Kerry Wood (triceps), Mark Prior (Achilles' tendon) and Mike Remlinger (shoulder), second basemen Mark Grudzielanek (Achilles') and Todd Walker (shoulder) and shortstop Alex Gonzalez (broken wrist) comprise the list of banged-up Cubs.
Sosa said he's surprised, too, that a sneeze started his problems.
"It's amazing to me. It's something that happened," Sosa said. "But you know that's life and you got to deal with it."
Sosa, batting .291 with 10 homers and 24 RBIs, is on the DL for the fifth time in his 16-year career.
He was on the DL last season after having the nail on his right big toe removed, causing him to miss 18 games. He was also suspended seven games for using a corked bat. The Cubs were 13-12 without him.
"We were without Sammy 25 games last year and handled it. I think we have a better bench than last year and better replacements," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said.
Baker said he would mix and match right fielders, depending on who was pitching. Jose Macias got the start Wednesday. Todd Hollandsworth was there Tuesday.
Baker said he could also use Damian Jackson, Tom Goodwin and Jason Dubois, who was called up Wednesday from Triple-A Iowa.
Sosa's No. 3 spot in the batting order was taken by Moises Alou, who moved up from the cleanup spot.
Lance Berkman homered for the second straight night, and Morgan Ensberg drove in three runs and Jeff Kent two to lead the Houston Astros over the slumping Florida Marlins 10-2 Wednesday.
Tim Redding (2-3) allowed two unearned runs and three hits in 6 2-3 innings, improving to 3-0 in four career starts against the Marlins.
"There are certain teams you throw well against, and this is one of them for me," said Redding. "I would rather do it against teams from our division, teams that we face more than just a few times a year. But I'll take it against whoever I can."
Florida, which got a two-run inside-the-park homer from Hee Seop Choi, has lost four of five games since winning two of three at Houston.
"We're playing bad baseball right now -- all around," Florida outfielder Jeff Conine said. "That sums it up. Every team in baseball goes through a slump."
Carl Pavano (3-2) allowed five runs and nine hits in seven innings, striking out five.
Cardinals 1, Mets 0
In New York, Scott Rolen hit an RBI double in the eighth inning to lead St. Louis past New York.
Jeff Suppan, Cal Eldred and Steve Kline combined on a four-hitter. Eldred (1-0) pitched two hitless innings and Kline worked a perfect ninth for his first save.
After Suppan and Steve Trachsel matched zeros most of the night, Tony Womack led off the eighth with a single off Mike Stanton (0-1). Edgar Renteria reached on a fielder's choice, then stole second with two outs before Rolen's hit off Ricky Bottalico.
Phillies 9, Dodgers 4
In Philadelphia, Pat Burrell hit a two-run homer and Marlon Byrd had three RBIs to help surging Philadelphia hand Los Angeles its sixth straight loss.
Eric Milton (5-0) allowed three runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings for the Phillies, who have won nine of 12.
Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo (3-5) left in the second inning after he split the nail on his right index finger. Brian Falkenborg relieved and allowed eight runs and eight hits in 3 2-3 innings. Cesar Itzuris had a three-run homer for the Dodgers.
Cubs 4, Giants 3, 10 innings
In Chicago, Moises Alou crossed up his father's strategy and homered in the bottom of the 10th inning as Chicago edged San Francisco.
With one out, Giants manager Felipe Alou pulled lefty Jason Christiansen and brought in righty Jim Brower (1-3) to face his son. But Moises hit a 3-2 pitch to end the game.
In the top of the 10th, Joe Borowski (2-1) retired Edgardo Alfonzo on a popup and Pedro Feliz on a grounder with runners on first and second.
Both teams played without their stars, nursing aching backs. The Giants' Barry Bonds has missed four of the last five games. The Cubs' Sammy Sosa went on the 15-day DL.
Brewers 6, Expos 3
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Bill Hall hit a go-ahead, three-run triple through the steady rain to help Milwaukee snap Montreal's four-game winning streak.
Victor Santos (2-0) threw five innings and allowed two runs for the win. Dan Kolb pitched the final inning for his ninth save in nine tries.
Jose Vidro grounded out with two on to end it. He went 0-for-4, extending his slump to 2-for-24. Sun-woo Kim (2-2) took the loss. He pitched three shutout innings but gave up four runs in the fourth after a 59-minute rain delay.
Matthew LeCroy had Minnesota's first pinch-hit grand slam in seven years in the ninth inning Wednesday, giving the Twins a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Torii Hunter, Michael Ryan and Henry Blanco singled off Toronto closer Terry Adams (3-3). LeCroy, batting for Alex Prieto, hit the first pinch-hit grand slam for the Twins since Greg Colbrunn against the Blue Jays on Aug. 4, 1997.
"What was amazing about it, was that I was the only guy left on the bench because everybody was hurt," LeCroy said.
Aaron Fultz (2-1) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings. Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 13th save.
Jose Offerman tied it in the sixth for Minnesota with a two-run double. Vernon Wells doubled in the bottom of the inning and scored to give Toronto a 3-2 lead, and added a two-run single for a 5-2 lead in the seventh.
"Guys who wouldn't normally hug, we're hugging," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire. "It's a big win for us. We probably didn't deserve it, but if you keep playing nine innings good things happen."
Red Sox 4, Devil Rays 1
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Curt Schilling allowed one run in seven innings, and Manny Ramirez hit a two-run homer to lead Boston over Tampa Bay.
Schilling (5-3) gave up five hits, walked one and struck out five.
Johnny Damon also homered, and Keith Foulke got four outs for his eighth save in as many chances for Boston, which beat Rob Bell (0-1) -- called up from Triple-A Durham before the game.
White Sox 15, Indians 3
In Cleveland, Chicago's Frank Thomas had five RBIs and Paul Konerko added four to back Scott Schoeneweis as Chicago trounced Cleveland.
Thomas hit a two-run double in the third off Jason Davis (1-3), added an RBI single in the fourth and hit another two-run double in the sixth for the White Sox .
Outfielder Magglio Ordonez and second baseman Willie Harris sustained injuries when they collided while trying to run down a fly ball in the seventh. Ordonez bruised his left knee and Harris hurt his left ankle and shin.
Schoeneweis (4- 1) gave up three runs and five hits, walked five and struck out six.
Orioles 5, Mariners 2
In Seattle, Erik Bedard got his first major league win, and Melvin Mora hit an RBI double in Baltimore's victory over Seattle.
Jay Gibbons homered off Ryan Franklin (2-4) in a three-run seventh, and Luis Matos also connected for Baltimore. The Orioles won for the second straight night at Safeco Field, where they are 4-19 since the ballpark opened in July 1999.
The last-place Mariners lost for the ninth time in 10 games and fell 13 games under .500 for the first time since Sept. 12, 1998.
Making his sixth career start, Bedard (1-1) gave up two runs in 6 2-3 innings and struck out seven. Jorge Julio got his seventh save in eight chances.
Yankees 4, Angels 2
In Anaheim, California, Jon Lieber pitched into the eighth inning and Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer in his return to the New York lineup after missing two games with spasms as the Yankees edged Anaheim.
Alex Rodriguez gave the Yankees a two-run lead with an RBI double off Ben Weber in the eighth. New York manager Joe Torre wasn't around to see it. He was ejected in the sixth by Tim Timmons for arguing a called strike on Rodriguez.
Lieber (3-1) allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings. Mariano Rivera got three straight outs for his AL-leading 15th save in 16 chances. John Lackey (3-5) gave up three runs on five hits in 5 1-3 innings and walked a career-high six.
Barry Bonds' back started hurting again and the San Francisco Giants star was out of the lineup for Wednesday's game with the Cubs.
"We're not making plans for him to play tomorrow," Giants manager Felipe Alou said before the game. The Cubs and Giants end their series today.
Asked if Bonds might head to the disabled list, Alou said: "I'm afraid, yeah, of course. My feeling is 50-50."
Bonds missed three games with back spasms before returning to the lineup Tuesday night, scoring the only run in the Giants' 1-0 victory.
Pirates release Mondesi
The Pittsburgh Pirates finally ran out of patience with absent outfielder Raul Mondesi, terminating his contract Wednesday when he didn't show up for the start of a three-game series against San Diego.
The Pirates cited breach of contract in ending all dealings with Mondesi when he left them May 7 to theDominican Republic.
Mondesi said he was not disappointed by the Pirates' decision.
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