Manager Jim Essian said Danny Jackson could start Saturday if he passes two more tests this week. The Cubs left-hander, sidelined since April 19 with a torn groin muscle, will throw a simulated game Tuesday and then work out Thursday.
Jackson reported none of the tightness that bothered him a week ago, but he was not sure he could start this weekend.
”I just hope that nothing else happens,” said Jackson, 0-1 with a 5.06 earned-run average.
Heart-tugger: Doug Dascenzo, Dave Smith and Rick Sutcliffe paid an early-morning visit to the hospital room of 10-year-old Jean-Francois Chevrier, who was carried unconscious from Olympic Stadium after being struck by a Dascenzo liner during batting practice Saturday night.
They invited the boy to the Cubs clubhouse Sunday. He showed up bearing a lump on his forehead.
The diminutive Expos fan doesn`t speak English, and the Cubs don`t know French, but it didn`t matter. ”We didn`t need to speak the same language,”
Smith said. ”His eyes just lit up.”
Dascenzo, badly shaken Saturday night, was relieved to see the boy walking again. ”Having a 10-month-old kid myself, it makes me especially conscious of what can happen to them,” he said.
Smith streaking: Smith, who went from April 17 to May 5 without a save, has notched one in each of his last nine apperances. Sunday`s was his 13th, tying him for the league lead with Cincinnati`s Rob Dibble.
In that stretch, Smith has pitched nine innings without allowing a run. He has given up four hits, walked two and struck out four.
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Short-timer? Rumors Montreal manager Buck Rodgers was about to be fired swirled Sunday afternoon when Expos General Manager David Dombrowski flew to Montreal from West Palm Beach, the club`s draft headquarters. There was speculation that the move could come as early as Monday, a day off for the Expos before they begin a road trip.