posted on Jun, 18 2004 @ 02:11 PM
CHICAGO (AP) - Sammy Sosa was back in the lineup for Friday's game against the Oakland Athletics after being activated by the Chicago Cubs.
Sosa had been on the disabled list since May 16 with a sprained ligament in his lower back brought on by two violent sneezes. He did a rehab stint at
Double-A West Tenn only the second of his career going 2 for 7 with three strikeouts, a double and an RBI single. He had hoped to play one game in
right field, but didn't because of wet conditions on the field.
To make room for Sosa, the Cubs optioned outfielder Jason Dubois to Triple-A Iowa. Dubois hit .167 with an RBI in 11 games.
Sosa was hitting .291 with 10 home runs and 24 RBI before his injury, and the Cubs miss his offense. Chicago went 16-14 without him, and the club's
runs per game dropped from 5.1 to 4.7.
Still, the Cubs are only two games behind NL Central-leader St. Louis.