CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Cubs have placed starter Carlos Zambrano on the 15-day disabled list because of soreness in his lower back and activated reliever Kerry Wood.
The team announced the moves before Friday’s game against the crosstown White Sox.
Zambrano showed up for Thursday’s start against San Francisco in pain and left to boos in the second inning trailing 1-0. The Cubs went on to win 5-2 in 13 innings thanks to a superb effort by the bullpen and a game-winning pinch-hit homer by Geovany Soto.
Later that day, Zambrano threw out the ceremonial first pitch as part of a charity event tied to a Chicago Bandits women’s softball game and nearly got hit in the back by a foul ball during an interview with Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
That didn’t bother manager Mike Quade or general manager Jim Hendry, who calls it “one of the biggest to-dos about nothing in his long history.”
Zambrano was expected to make two more starts before the All-Star break.
Wood had been sidelined by a blister on his right index finger.
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